Secret Santa
by Corrose
Summary: Fairy Tail's annual Christmas party is always legendary, but this year the mages are hosting a Secret Santa, and romance is thick with Mirajane in charge of the partners! Flaming Christmas trees and too much eggnog? Sounds like a Fairy Tail holiday!
1. Her Respective Guy

A/N – I really hope I can get this done in time for Christmas.

This will mostly be Gajeel/Levy centric, with other pairings throughout. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

**Secret Santa**

Fairy Tail was getting ready for Christmas.

Mages rushed about with various trappings, getting as much of the decorations onto the floor as they were supposed to be getting into the rafters. Brightly colored streamers and various blinking lights were being tamped into place all along the second floor and the bar looked glorious with its array of holiday wreaths, flowers and lights. An enormous tree, courtesy of the combined efforts of Droy and Laki Olietta, was sitting in a place of honor right next to the bar. People were already taking bets on how long it would remain standing as Fairy Tail cavorted around it. Bets ranged from gone within the next few days to Cana's creative "going up in a burst of flames on Christmas night." The majority gave it a scant week.

It was certain to be glorious while it lasted, Gajeel thought grumpily, watching mages decorating the huge tree. The only reason he was looking at all was because Levy was perched precariously on a ladder, hanging little baubles on the upper boughs, chattering happily with Lisanna and Lucy who were decorating underneath her. Jet and Droy were hovering nervously in the periphery, obviously as worried as he was about her tentative position (though he strongly suspected that they were also trying to take opportunistic glances up her skirt, and that made Gajeel want to beat them to a bloody mess).

Levy, finished with her armful of baubles, leaned back, surveying her handiwork and Gajeel closed his eyes, fighting the growing urge to go and support the ladder as it creaked perilously underneath her. Deciding that a little more zazzle wouldn't hurt, Levy raised an arm and spoke brightly as she cast a Solid Script incantation.

"Light!"

A multitude of small, glowing lights burst into existence around her, and for a second, Levy was gloriously illuminated by a cloud of glowing firefly text. She smiled, looking up at them before flicking her finger outwards, sending the tiny Solid Scripts flying into decorative positions all around the tree. Cries of appreciation at her handiwork went up all around the Guild and Gajeel swallowed weakly past the lump in his throat.

Shit. Why did she have to look so goddamn beautiful when she did things like that?

This brought him to the next order of things on his mind. Surreptitiously, he pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and stared at it. There was only one word on the note, printed in block writing. Levy.

He had gotten Levy for his Secret Santa partner.

He stuffed the paper viciously back into his pocket, blushing angrily. Of all the luck in the world...he couldn't decide whether he was ecstatic or furious. On one hand, this was the perfect opportunity to get Levy a great present, maybe even let her know how he felt. On the other hand - he glared daggers at Mirajane, who was humming and sweeping about behind the bar, preparing warm holiday drinks for the (already) drunken revelers - why did it feel like he was being set up?

Scowling, he watched the white-haired bartender with slitted eyes. He had absolutely no doubt that she was the one handling the whole partner exchange aspect of the Secret Santa. Deciding to confirm, he stalked over to where Natsu and Gray were scrabbling and fighting each other to put up a now hopelessly-tangled string of lights.

"Oi Salamander, Stripper."

The two looked up at him with fire in their eyes, angry at being disturbed and simultaneously yelled "What do you want?"

He took out his piece of paper and waved it at them, careful to keep it folded.

"What poor idiots got you two as partners for the gift exchange?" Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to say Secret Santa. It was just too...jolly.

Natsu and Gray stopped fighting, rummaging about for their own slips of paper. Gray had to find his pants in order to do so, angrily jamming himself back in before he fished the slip out of one pocket. Natsu held up his piece shamelessly.

"I got Lu-"

Gajeel shut him up instantly, clapping one hand across Natsu's mouth.

"Oi, shut your big mouth!"

Gajeel glanced back to make sure Lucy Bunny-girl was still occupied with Levy and Lisanna at the tree. Thankfully she was, and even though Natsu's voice was hopelessly loud, she hadn't heard him over the commotion the rest of the Guild was making. Turning his attention back to Natsu, he hissed "You're not supposed to let them know, you idiot! That's the entire concept of the stupid game, and I've never even done this before!"

He let go of Natsu with a yelp, shaking his smoking hand as the Dragonslayer belched, producing an impressive burst of flame. Snarling, Gajeel turned to Gray, who was shirtless again.

"What about you, stripper?"

Gray frowned at Gajeel, picking up his shirt again and putting it back on. Quietly, he murmured "I got Juvia."

"SHH, BE QUIET GRAY!" Natsu yelled, completely defeating the point as onlookers around them gawked and cocked their ears to listen in on their conversation.

Gajeel rolled his eyes as Gray and Natsu started a shouting match about who could be quieter. As he stalked away from the squabbling pair, his initial suspicions were confirmed. The only question that remained was...had the girls gotten their respective guys as their exchange partners too? He chanced a quick glance at Mirajane and twitched to see that she was watching the trio of Levy, Lucy and Lisanna like a cat, her eyes flicking to the girls and then to Natsu and Gray. Her cunning expression was instantly replaced by her usual pleasant smile as she caught his glance, and Gajeel returned her friendly wave with a halfhearted flick of one finger, shivering at the dark reach of her power.

There was no way that the girls _wouldn't_ have gotten their guys as their gift exchange partner, Gajeel figured, not with Mirajane pulling strings behind the scenes, but he still had to make sure. Spotting Juvia peeking at Gray from behind the bar, Gajeel headed towards her. Halfway there, he suddenly realized that he was mentally referring to himself as Levy's "respective guy" and flushed irrationally at the stupid thought, kicking over a chair in a fit of rage? happiness? He didn't quite know himself either. He sank down onto his haunches next to Juvia, who was kneeling behind the bar and peeking at Gray through gaps in the legs of the high bar stools.

"Hey."

Juvia turned and smiled at her longtime friend.

"Hello Gajeel! Juvia feels happy that holidays here are so fun!"

He just nodded and got straight to the point.

"You got stripper over there as your gift partner, huh?" He punctuated his question by jabbing his chin at Gray, who was still arguing with Natsu. Their yelling match had reached epic proportions and both mages were red-faced from shouting. The crowd of drunken Fairy Tail members around them cheered and waved them on enthusiastically. Elfman, Nab and Alzack had their arms slung around each other and were singing a raunchy (manly) carol in horribly off-key tones, only pausing to take deep swigs from their tankards.

Juvia turned bright red at his question.

"H-How did Gajeel know? Juvia did not tell anyone that she received Gray-sama as...as a partner!"

She looked like she was going to faint from happiness and embarrassment at saying the words Gray and partner in the same sentence and Gajeel edged away from her uncomfortably as she brought both hands to her face and swooned dreamily, hearts in her eyes. He sighed, "Just a hunch," before slinking away, leaving Juvia alone in a state of blissful rapture.

Well now that THAT was taken care of, Gajeel turned his mind towards what sort of present he should get for Levy. He frowned, going over possibilities in his mind. He wasn't exactly good at this sort of thing, not having much opportunity for trivial things like mulling over presents during his tenure at Phantom.

A book would be the obvious choice, he thought, watching Levy out of the corner of his eye, trying and miserably failing not to be jealous as she laughed, twirling around with Lucy as they shared a tinsel scarf. Reluctantly dragging his attention back to the task at hand, he dismissed the idea quickly. Levy would probably be getting a book from every single Guild member for her other Christmas presents. Getting her another one on top of that would be overkill, and he'd be lost in the flood. He wanted to get her something special that she wouldn't be able to forget, something that she would know came from him and him alone. But what?

As he was going over other possibilities, Pantherlily jumped up next to him, sitting so that his paws dangled off the edge of the table. Gajeel hooked one arm around the Exceed and promptly smushed his chin into Pantherlily's head. Lily growled at him, pushing at his face, totally unamused.

"Get off of me, you big oaf of a dragonslayer!"

Laughing, Gajeel let him go, and the exceed returned to his original sitting position with an indignant huff. Gajeel grinned at his cat's fussiness, but soon enough, he fell silent again as he racked his brains for ideas.

"What's on your mind?" Lily asked, noting the pensive look on Gajeel's face. When the Dragonslayer had that expression on, usually he was thinking about darker things, but not today.

Gajeel took out his slip of paper and showed Lily the name on it. Lily looked back up with a sly smile.

"Ah. I understand."

Gajeel flushed at the knowing tone in his cat's voice.

"What the hell are you talking about? I-I'm just thinking about what to get her, that's all!"

Pantherlily just nodded sagely, unable to keep the smug grin off his face. Gajeel snagged the piece of paper out of Lily's paw and stuffed it back into his pocket, a blush creeping up his neck. "If you're not going to help then I'm leaving! I can't even fucking hear myself think in this stupid guild!"

He stomped out without a further word, ignoring the raucous festivities around him.

* * *

Levy turned at Gajeel's shout to watch him leave, a concerned expression on her face.

"Levy-chan?"

Lucy, who was tying a large bow on one of the lower boughs of the tree, turned to see her friend with that sad, tight expression on her face that she'd long learned was reserved for Gajeel doing something stupid.

"Don't worry about Gajeel, Levy! I'm sure that he's just annoyed by us being…us!" She grinned brightly at her friend, who blushed hotly.

"I'm not worried about him! I just think he's a party pooper for leaving like that, that's all! I-I mean, he didn't even help us decorate the tree!"

Levy turned back to the tree, her face bright red, jamming ornaments haphazardly onto various branches. Lucy covered her mouth with one hand, stifling the giggle that bubbled up.

"Did you WANT him to help us decorate the tree, Levy-chan?"

If it was possible, Levy turned even redder, and dropped half the ornaments all over the floor in her flustered state.

"N-No! I didn't say that! Stop putting words in my mouth, Lu-chan!"

Levy's voice was shrill with indignation and embarrassment and Lucy giggled helplessly as she bent to help her friend pick up the scattered ornaments. Anyone with eyes could see the mutual attraction between her best friend and the Iron Dragonslayer. Anyone except the two actually involved, that was! She had no idea how Levy could be so hard-headed when it came to things like relationships! Sidling over to her red-faced friend, Lucy grinned slyly.

"You got him for your Secret Santa, didn't you?"

Levy gave a mortified squeak and stared at her friend, open-mouthed with surprise. Lucy pumped her fist victoriously, heedless of the baubles that spilled back onto the floor.

"I KNEW it! How exciting! What are you going to get him? Do you know?"

Levy waved her arms frantically to shush her friend.

"Lucy! Stop! I-I don't know what I'm going to get him!"

Lucy tapped a finger thoughtfully against her cheek, thinking.

"Oh! I know! You could give him _yourself_! Boys always love sexy presents!" She cupped her boobs, shimmying and looking as sexy as she could manage, and Levy _choked _with embarrassment. "Just show up at his house wearing nothing but a bow and-"

Lucy abruptly found herself tackled to the floor by a tomato-faced Levy.

"Lu-chan! Don't say that kind of thing! Don't even _think_ it!"

Lucy giggled at the outraged expression on Levy's face, her laughter muffled by Levy's hands clamped over her mouth. She knew that her friend was only this embarrassed because it was such a good idea!

* * *

Later, as Levy walked the familiar path back to Fairy hills, she sighed, slouching in a very unladylike manner, breath puffing up in a frozen cloud around her face as she pulled her coat a bit tighter around her. Lucy's idea notwithstanding (she felt her cheeks heat up just THINKING about what her friend and suggested), Levy had absolutely NO idea what to get Gajeel. She pulled out her Secret Santa slip, glancing morosely at the block letter name printed on the paper.

"What do I get you?" She asked with a frustrated sigh.

"Who're you talking to?"

Levy squeaked in surprise as a familiar voice jolted her out of her musing. Hastily stuffing the slip down the front of her shirt, she whirled to face Gajeel, who had appeared out of absolutely _nowhere _on the path behind her.

"Gajeel! What are you doing here?"

He shrugged and fell into step beside her. They walked in an awkward, if companionable, silence until Fairy Hills came into view before Gajeel abruptly turned to her.

"Who'd you get for your gift exchange partner?" He asked bluntly.

Levy felt her face heating up, and counted on the chilly night air and dimly-lit path to hide it.

"Um, Gajeel, I don't think we're supposed to say who we got until after Christmas..."

He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Yeah. No harm in asking though, right? Also, your bra's showing. See ya."

He took off with a huge smirk as Levy screamed something incoherent and furious after him, yanking the deep V of her shirt all the way up to her scarf to hide the slip of bright blue lace that was showing. She KNEW it was a bad idea to wear something like that today! Burning with embarrassment, she powerwalked the rest of the way to Fairy Hills and slammed the door shut behind her.

* * *

Gajeel watched to make sure that Levy got into Fairy Hills safely before sitting back and sniffing to plug up the nosebleed that had started when he noticed that her top was in disarray. Initially, he had barely managed to stifle the overwhelming urge to cover her up, reasoning that she wouldn't take too kindly to him suddenly groping at her chest. Now that she was inside the dorm, he figured that she wouldn't mind if he took a quick look about, just to make sure she wasn't _really_ mad at him, y'know.

He snuck back to Fairy Hills, hiding in the cover of the woods near the dorm until he was behind the building. Crouching behind the wall, he tried to tell himself that it wasn't like he was _spying_ on her or anything, just making sure she wasn't still fuming at him. Straightening, he took a few steps back and glanced up. He had memorized where her room was from walking her back several times before, and now he quickly counted the windows, three to the left and two up, eyes alighting on the curtains of her personal library. As he watched, a light winked on as she finally reached her bedroom, a dim glow barely visible through the multitude of books piled high against the frame, and he grinned as she opened her window, leaning out to toss the curtains aside and let her room air out. _Perfect._

Glad for the cover of darkness, he took a running start and launched himself upwards, clambering the stone wall with ease and levering himself onto the sturdy stone windowsill before taking a quick peek into her room. It was empty, and he listened intently, inhaling deeply a few times to make sure that she had actually left before sticking his head in to look.

From what he could see, it was in the same wild disarray as before, and he frowned at the books tilting dangerously on creaking shelves, in disarray on her desk, stacked in ceiling-high piles next to her bed. It wasn't like he could judge her, since his own apartment had the unmistakable look of a bachelor pad, with dirty dishes in the sink and half-clean laundry lying randomly about, but Levy's room was a tornado-strewn landscape of half-open books and papers and scrolls.

He knew that she wasn't naturally messy by habit, but he also knew that she tended to forget little details (like no more room for books) when she was on one of her fanatical reading sprees. She wasn't exactly the type to organize her books either, preferring to jam them haphazardly onto shelves the moment she was done, or to stack them next to her bedside in orderly piles until they became too big and eventually wobbled and fell on top of her.

More importantly, her entire goddamn _room_ was books, and it didn't give him a single new idea for her stupid present. Shifting on the windowsill in frustration, he gripped the window frame to hold his balance and accidentally bumped one of the stacks, upsetting the perilous balance and sending the books tumbling down. He winced at the uproar of falling books and fluttering pages, ready to hop off and hide in the shadows if anyone came to investigate, but the door remained closed and he blew out a grateful sigh.

Damn, if only she had some way to pack all these books together so they wouldn't fall everywhere, he groused silently. Then he stopped, jolting as the idea struck him. Shit, it was PERFECT. He leapt off the windowsill, landing as silently as a cat on the ground and took off at a dead run towards his apartment, holding the frail design in his mind even as his brain raced around plans to construct it.

* * *

After a long soak in the girls' bath, Levy was finally relaxing in her bed with a book and a candle. She felt loads better now, telling herself that Gajeel's single glimpse of her bra wasn't as bad as anything Cana wore on a daily basis anyways! After her initial embarrassment had faded, she was actually secretly pleased that the Iron Dragonslayer was sneaking looks at her lingerie. She didn't know whether to feel scandalized or appreciative at that traitorous thought. Snuggling into the silk-soft down of her plush comforters, Levy plumped the pillow behind her head with a happy sigh, settling in for a long spell of reading.

A few pages into her novel, she suddenly leapt out from the warm comfort of her bed.

"I got it!" She shouted, pumping her fist victoriously.

Hastily looking around to make sure no one had seen her embarrassing outburst, Levy crawled sheepishly back into her covers, but she didn't return her attention to her book. Instead, she ran both hands over the thick plush of her comforter, recalling Gajeel's horrible, single-layered, scratchy flannel excuse for a blanket from the night she had spent at his apartment.

_That was it!_ She marveled. She'd get Gajeel a blanket so thick and comfy that he couldn't NOT use it, and it was such a strange idea that he'd never know it was from her! He'd probably expect something horribly cliche like a _book _from her. As if she would be so predictable! Fired up from her idea, Levy was ready to throw on a jacket and run to the local fabric store immediately, but she stopped, suddenly remembering that it was late at night and the store was most definitely closed. She'd have to wait until tomorrow to start.

Reluctantly sinking back into her sheets, Levy blew out the candle and fell back onto her pillows, but her mind was racing a mile a minute and she couldn't fall asleep. Finally, she sat up and re-lighted her candle, pulling out a much-used pad of yellow paper and grabbing one of the ever-present pens from the table next to her bed.

It wouldn't do to just get him a random blanket and call it a present, she thought, chewing her lip. It was so...so clinical! She wanted to put a personal touch on the comforter, just enough to personalize it to Gajeel's liking, but not enough that he would realize it was from her. But how would she decorate a comforter, she wondered?

Absentmindedly, she started doodling little patterns on the yellow pad, her mind going to all the possible things that Gajeel might like. He'd probably like to have some kind of iron on it, just because he was the Iron Dragonslayer and all, but whoever heard of putting iron on a blanket? She pondered it for a while, marking it down just the same. Maybe iron studs would work? Hmm, and since he was a dragon, maybe he'd like a dragon on it? She drew a fierce dragon on the marked square, giggling as it came out worse than she expected. Just to make it as comfortable as possible, the bottom should be made out of a soft, plushy material, she decided, jotting it down with firm strokes.

Sitting back, she surveyed her finished project, which looked remarkably like - her shoulders sagged – a child's toy. She let out a frustrated cry and smacked the notepad against her forehead before slumping back into her bed.

"Ahh, is this really a good idea?" She asked out loud.

She had absolutely no experience working with cloth, and she didn't know anyone who did, but she wanted Gajeel to have _something_ comfortable in his dreary house!  
Sighing, she blew out the candle before slumping into bed, pulling the covers up to her face. At least she had an idea. Now all that was left to do was to figure out how to actually make it.

Puffing out her cheeks in frustration, she closed her eyes and was drifting into sleep before she knew it, and her dreams that night were tinged a comforting shade of silver.

* * *

End Chapter 1- Gift ideas in the making! Oh the suspense, the drama!

edited to compensate for later chapter lengths.


	2. His Hard Work

CHAPTER 2 START

A/N – new chapter. A bit longer than before. Gajeel and Levy fret over making their gifts perfect.

* * *

Gajeel cursed angrily as his third attempt at creating a tiny steel arch folded in on itself. The metal was too thin to hold up to repeated molding, no matter what he did to try and shore it up.

Stomping angrily away from the table, he grabbed a coat and tore out. He needed some fresh air and time to figure out how to solve this problem before he blew up his own goddamn house! He crunched his way over to the Guild building, footsteps making deep trails in the slushy snow that had fallen overnight, breath steaming angrily in the frosty air, but Gajeel didn't notice any of this. His mind was turned inwards, thinking feverishly for ways around the problem with the folding metal.

Storming into Fairy Tail's main hall, he sat himself down at the bar, and Mira perked up as he waved a hand at her for a drink. She bustled over and set a tankard of his usual down right as the Guild's front doors burst open, and they both looked up at the disturbance.

Natsu groaned dramatically, feet dragging as he stumbled into the Guild Hall. He'd been running all over town looking for the perfect gift for Lucy, but he hadn't been able to find anything like what he had in mind!

"Why is this so hard?" He howled as he flopped miserably onto one of the long wooden tables. Mirajane spared him a sympathetic glance, smiling behind her hand.

"What's hard, Natsu?" She asked, leaving the bar to sit next to him, propping her beautiful face up with both hands.

"This present!" Natsu cried. "Why is finding a present so hard?"

"Who is it for?" Mira asked innocently and Gajeel shot her a disgusted look. As if she didn't know…

"It's a secret." Natsu replied, his head making dull thuds as he repeatedly thumped it on the wooden table. "But it's so hard to find…if only I could make it myself!"

Gajeel gasped. It was as if a light had suddenly snapped on in his head. That was it! He could use Salamander's dragonfire to solve the problem!

"Oi! Salamander. C'mere." He motioned Natsu over, scowling at Mirajane before she could say anything. He glanced left and right to make sure there were no observers before leaning forward conspiratorially to whisper "I'll help you with your present if you help me with mine."

"Who'd you get?" Natsu asked, eyes bright with suppressed interest. Gajeel gave him a slant-eyed stare.

"That's none of your business. All you need to know is that I need some help making my present and you need help with yours, so is this a deal or not?"

Natsu looked like he had a million more questions, but thankfully, he shut his yap and just nodded, eyes shrewd. Gajeel grunted with relief.

"C'mon then. Let's get going."

He yanked his jacket back on and started trudging back to his house, Natsu following him like a hyperactive monkey.

"So what kind of present is it? Who is it for? What are you making?"

Gajeel grunted noncommittally and continued walking, resolving to ignore Igneel's annoying brat until his help was needed. That didn't stop Natsu from guessing.

"Is it for Erza? Is it for Juvia? Is it for Elfman? Is it for Wendy? OH, I KNOW! Is it for ME?" Natsu was practically incandescent with conviction. He stopped suddenly, a confused expression on his face. "Wait…I don't want a present from _you_, IT BETTER NOT BE FOR ME!"

Gajeel fought the growing urge to beat the idiot up, a vein pulsing angrily in his forehead. _You're doing this for Levy_, he chanted in his head, massaging his forehead. _Just put up with him for an afternoon and think of how happy Levy's face will be when she sees it. Just calm down, just_…

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!" He finally snapped, turning around to face Natsu.  
Natsu stared at him, mouth open in surprise before breaking out into a wide grin.

"Ohhh, so it IS for Levy!"

Gajeel floundered in the snow, sputtering helplessly at being caught so suddenly off guard. His ears started turning red and he hurriedly jerked the hood of his jacket up to hide it.

"W-wait, what? I never fuckin' said that! What the hell!"

Natsu wasn't put off and started to frolic, leaping up in excitement.

"I told you I could find out! Stupid junk metal dragon! Did you really think I couldn't guess it? Levy's your Secret Santa! Levy's your-"

Natsu finally decided that maybe it _would _be a good time to shut up, as Gajeel whirled and flung him into a nearby tree, immediately hammering several steel bars across his limbs and another over his mouth for good measure, trapping him securely before leaning in close and baring his fangs, his eyes slitted dangerously.

"Shut up, Salamander. Shut the _fuck_ up. I won't say it again. I won't have you running your fucking huge mouth everywhere and spoiling this for her. You understand?"

Natsu couldn't really move his head or make a sound, but he managed a sort of understanding eye squint, and Gajeel ripped him free, tossing him in an unceremonious pile in the snow.

"You didn't have to do that," he complained, rubbing his wrists where Gajeel's attack had chafed him. Gajeel just snarled angrily, and Natsu followed him meekly, although he couldn't quite hold himself back from asking "So what are you making?" a few more times before they finally reached the Iron Dragonslayer's house.

* * *

Opening his front door in frosty silence, Gajeel walked straight to the dining room table with Natsu trailing him, and as Natsu opened his mouth to ask, for the tenth time, what Gajeel was making, Gajeel gestured to the table with a curt nod, forestalling the question.

"This." Gajeel adjusted the beginnings of his project on the table in front of Natsu, whose eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

"That's incredible! You made this yourself? How is that possible?" He turned and glared suspiciously at the Iron Dragon. "Are you lying? There's no way that someone like you could make something like this!"

Gajeel heaved a deep, long-suffering sigh before speaking, talking slowly and painstakingly enunciating every syllable like he was talking to a particularly slow dog.

"Yes. Yes, I made it. I am not _done _yet, which is why I need your help."

"Why?"

"Watch."

Gajeel grabbed the iron base and pulled it to him, turning the tip of his index finger into a miniscule steel thread. Looping it skillfully around the main body of the piece, he molded the steel string into a delicate swirling arch, doubling back over the arc again and again to create a series of intricate, interwoven steel threads that perfectly mimicked the appearance of scales. When he reached the end of the section, he quickly made a thicker steel cable with his other hand, running it perpendicular to the strings along the line of the main piece. As he tried to connect the two parts, the threads started to come apart, the supporting strings drooping under the weight of the steel, tenuous as the shining silver thread was. Gajeel growled as the fragile nest of steel wires fell apart under his hands, before giving Natsu an exasperated look.

"See? This is why."

Natsu cocked his head, looking at the wires as Gajeel carefully brushed them away, detaching any that still remained so they wouldn't interfere with his next try.

"What do you want me to do?" Natsu asked.

"You have to heat the threads as I'm makin' them so that the heat makes them malleable while I attach the underwire. Then as they cool, they'll attach naturally instead of me havin' to mold them together."

"Can't you just turn the entire thing onto its side and do it?" Natsu pointed out. Gajeel shook his head impatiently.

"If I could do that then why the hell would I need your help? I can't turn it, since I need gravity to make the wire drape naturally downwards. Idiot," he added for good measure.

"Well, if you need me to heat something up, I'm your man!" Natsu yelled, pumping his fists together, fire pouring out of his mouth. Gajeel groaned. God damnit, why was he forced to work with such a moron?

"Look…you can't just fuckin' go around burning things. I need a controlled fire, not your usual over-the-top shit. Can you just try and work with me here for a second?"

Natsu scowled, but he held out his fist, which crackled to life with a slow fire. Gajeel held up one of the ruined threads from his previous attempt and held it to the flame, watching with a critical eye as it turned cherry red under the heat, noting the time it took to turn white and finally to melt.

"Turn it up a bit," he told Natsu, holding a new thread to the fire. "I said a bit!" he yelped, jerking back the blackened thread as Natsu's fire jumped noticeably in height. Giving Natsu a dirty look, Gajeel held another thread to the flame, testing the temperature again. Nodding, he placed the handful of silver wires aside and grabbed one of the iron blocks.

"Hold that fire," he commanded, setting the block down as he held out his index finger and began forming the shining silver wire. Carefully, he wove the threads into the same delicate arches and loops as before. As he neared the end of the section, he motioned Natsu over with a jerk of his chin.

"Hold the fire in the middle of the arch, so that only the very top of the fire's touching. Don't make it too hot," he hissed as he gingerly started to line the underwire along the base of the silver strings, which were now glowing bright red under the heat of the dragonfire.

To Gajeel's satisfaction, the delicate strings fused instantly with the thicker steel underwire as he drew it slowly along the length of the arc. Natsu moved wordlessly, watching with rapt interest as Gajeel advanced with the steel cable. Only when he finished lining the entire arc did Gajeel finally let out a pent-up breath and move away, Natsu doing the same.

Gajeel continued to watch for a few minutes, adjusting the position of a few strings while the steel was still hot, gently testing the connection between the delicate offshoot and the main body of the piece. Finally satisfied, he slouched back in the chair with a sigh.

"Shit. That was harder than I thought."

Natsu looked at the delicate beauty of the silver wire and back at Gajeel, who was already sitting up again, ready to finish the rest.

"You really care about her, don't you?" He asked.

Gajeel was silent, but Natsu understood.

"What are we waiting for then?" He demanded, all fired up. "We have to hurry and make this as good as possible for Levy!"

Gajeel turned and gave him a lopsided grin before nodding. "Yeah, you got that right. You ready for another go?"

"Of course!" Natsu shouted, his fist already crackling wildly. Gajeel winced.

"Fire's too hot."

"Oh…"Natsu looked at his blazing fist, reducing the fire to a trickle. Gajeel massaged his forehead, gritting his teeth with frustration.

"Too small."

"I'm trying my best!" Natsu roared at him.

"Well, try harder!" Gajeel snarled back.

They turned their backs huffily on each other before remembering, oh yeah, they were supposed to be working together. Glowering, Gajeel grabbed one of the ruined steel threads. "Stick out your hand," he snapped. Natsu glared right back, but held out his fist and Gajeel repeated the process of testing the temperature. It might be a good thing that he had so many ruined attempts, he thought ruefully, since it looked like this was going to take a while.

* * *

It took the entire _day _to finish up the rest of Gajeel's gift, and the thin winter sunlight was already bleeding into a purple sunset before Gajeel finally threw himself away from the project, utterly fed up with the whole thing, but _done._

"Fuckin'…_finally_," he groaned into his couch cushions. He had a pounding headache and he needed some sleep. His eyes were aching from staring too intensely for too long, and having Salamander's dragonfire smoke eating at his eyes while he was working hadn't helped any.

Oh yeah, speaking of the brat... "Salamander, get the hell out of my house!" he yelled, his voice muffled by the cushions.

"But I'm not done yet!" Came Natsu's petulant reply.

"What the hell do you mean you're not done, you weren't even doing anything in the first place!"

Natsu poked his head around the door frame. "You said you were going to help me," he demanded.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I did, huh." He'd completely forgotten. Sitting up, Gajeel clapped his hands together a few times to get rid of any steel fragments before looking at Natsu expectantly.

"Fine. What the hell do you need help with?"

Natsu fished a crumpled piece of paper out of one pocket, shoving it at Gajeel. "I'm looking for something like that, but I couldn't find it anywhere I looked, and I looked all over town!"

Gajeel took the proferred paper and nearly fell over. The only things on the paper were several fish, crudely drawn.

"Y-you're looking for fish?" He asked skeptically, tossing the paper back to Natsu, whose brow furrowed in confusion. Natsu looked at the paper and threw it aside.

"No! That's not mine! That's Happy's! How did that get there..." He muttered indistinctly as he resumed trawling his pockets, and Gajeel sat back with an unamused frown, crossing his arms.

"This!" Natsu said, as he successfully pulled another crumpled piece of paper out of his pockets.

Gajeel took it and this time, it was a rough sketch of a keychain in the shape of Fairy Tail's Guild symbol. He tilted his head, considering it. Not a bad idea, really, for the Celestial Spirit chick, since she did use keys and all…

"I can make that," he said easily, putting the paper on his table and raising one hand to create it.

"Stop!" Natsu yelled, and he froze, giving the Salamander a confused look.

"Didn't you want me to help?" He asked.

"Well…yeah, but I didn't want you to make it _for_ me! Then it's like I didn't even do anything!"

Gajeel rolled his eyes. Of all the stupid…Ignoring Salamander's outraged yells, he started crafting the design in steel, looking at the childish scrawl on the paper and Salamander's own Guild tattoo for occasional reference. Finished, he tossed the completed item to Natsu, who caught it and turned it over, looking confused.

"It's a mold," he explained. "You fill it with whatever you want, fire it up, and it comes out in the shape you want it. This way you can make it out of whatever material you've got in mind and fire it yourself."

Natsu's eyes brightened as the explanation clicked.

"Hey! This is actually pretty awesome! Thanks, Gajeel!" He dashed out of Gajeel's house, knocking over a few chairs in his haste and Gajeel wanted to shout with relief at having that firestorm gone, but right at the door, Natsu turned around and Gajeel froze guiltily in his fist-pumping pose of victory.

"Yo, you aren't actually a bad guy, you know that?" Natsu said with a huge grin, and Gajeel opened his mouth to retort, but for once, he didn't have a clever reply.

"You're still a stupid scrap heap dragon though!" Natsu crowed, before yanking the door open and slamming it hard so shut that his entire_ house_ rattled, and Gajeel fumed at how that idiot had managed to get the last word in.

Still, he thought, glancing at his nearly-completed present, putting up with Salamander's brain-melting presence had been worth it in the end. His gift was breathtakingly beautiful, the shining silver threads as delicate as rice paper, but with all the resiliency of fired steel. Carefully, he hefted the two pieces, testing the weight to make sure they wouldn't be too heavy before settling them back on the table. All that was left to do was put some finishing touches and polish up before they were ready to go.

He grinned a big, stupid grin at the thought of how Levy's face would light up when she saw his present, caught himself and schooled his face into a scowl. It was just a present, he thought furiously. There was no reason he should be mooning over her reaction like a lovestruck schoolgirl, it wasn't good for his image. He grabbed a short dagger from a pile next to his couch and crammed it into his mouth, chewing thoroughly as the front door opened and Pantherlily hopped in.

"Oi! Where you been, cat?" he called out as Lily shook the snow off his shoulders, dusting the slush off his ears with an annoyed expression.

"Helping an idiot out!" was his peeved reply, and Gajeel laughed. "Me too!"

Pantherlily chuckled, shucking himself out of his tiny (adorable) coat and joining Gajeel on the couch. "So what idiot were _you_ having problems with?"

* * *

It turned out that Pantherlily had been helping Happy out, because apparently Natsu's cat was absolutely hopeless at thinking about anything that didn't have to do with fish.

"Who's his partner?" Gajeel asked, snorting with laughter at how disappointed someone would be to open up their present on Christmas and see a rotting fish. Lily shrugged.

"It's Charle. I don't even think it's officially part of the event, he just wants to get her a present." Gajeel chuckled and hugged his cat.

"Well good luck to him. At least he has you helping him out."

Lily fought free of his arms with a growl, flying off the couch and to the table, where he scrutinized Gajeel's nearly-complete present.

"It looks like you've been doing a decent job by yourself," he said neutrally. "Are you finished?"

"Not yet, but I'm almost done."

"I think she'll really love it," Lily said.

"Ya think?" Gajeel asked, nervous for the first time.

Lily nodded proudly, crossing his arms over his small chest. "I know."

Gajeel smiled fondly at his complete confidence. Stupid cat.

* * *

Levy looked at the mess of fabric sprawled on her bed with trepidation, chewing her lip.

She had gone down to the bedding store and now she had all the raw materials to work with, but the problem was that she didn't even have an inkling as to where to start! Right now, the task looked insurmountable, and as she looked at the assorted fabrics, threads and needles, she was at a complete loss.

"Ohh, why did I even think that I could do this?" She cried, sitting down on her bed with a huff. She squawked as something made a crumpling sound underneath her, leaping up in consternation and searching for the source. When she found it, she gave a sudden cry of relief and hugged the crumpled piece of paper it to her chest.

In the rush of shopping and buying and designing, she had completely forgotten that the owner of the fabric store, a kindly old man by the name of Gannon Garrisson, had helped her sketch out a preliminary blueprint and a set of instructions to get her started after finding out that she was completely and totally clueless about sewing.

Looking over the makeshift draft, Levy grabbed the required sheets of fabric off her bed, laying them in order on a specially cleared space on the floor. She had had to make five trips to the Archives to return books before she managed to clear a space large enough for the cloth!

Sitting herself down next to the sheets, she started to thread the needle, tongue sticking out and brow knit with the force of her concentration. After a few botched tries, she groaned with frustration and ran to her desk, rummaging about in the drawers until she found her Gale-Force reading glasses. Although she knew they weren't really supposed to be used for anything except reading, she really needed some magnification right now! Throwing herself back on the floor, she managed to successfully thread the needle and tie an anchoring knot. With a determined sigh, she picked up one corner of the fabric and got to work.

Several hours later, Levy finally looked up with a sigh, pulling her glasses off and massaging her forehead wearily. Getting up, she surveyed her work.

One side.

In the space of 2 and a half hours, all she had managed to do was prick herself in the fingers a _countless_ number of times and sew – if you could even call these uneven stitches sewing - a single side out of the four required. There were still 3 other sides, not to mention all the embroidery and details and, and – she felt like exploding with frustration. This was going to take FAR longer than she initially thought, and Christmas was only a week away! With a moan of despair, she flopped onto her bed, heedless of the fabric that slid off with a silken whisper. She would _never_ finish in time, her needlework was simply too slow!

"What to do, what to do?" She worried, jumping off her bed and pacing back and forth nervously.

Finally, she came to the inevitable conclusion that she'd have to get some help.

* * *

Lucy jumped as an unexpected knock sounded at her front door. Slinking to the door, she glared at it, trying to figure out who could be behind it. Was it Natsu? Gray? Erza? Well if they thought that they could prank her in her own house, they were _dead_ wrong! She threw open the door with a ferocious yell, and Levy screamed in surprise, jumping back as her friend charged her through the open door. Lucy stopped short upon seeing who it was, the red fire leaving her eyes.

Oh! Levy-chan! What are you doing here?

Levy was still shaking with the unexpected terror of nearly being run over by her best friend (those terrifying eyes!), but she managed to reply bravely. "Oh! Umm, Lucy, I was wondering if you were free right now?"

"Yeah, of course!" Lucy replied, leaning against her doorframe. "What's wrong? Do you want to come in?"

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong! It's…the thing is…I'm working on my present for the Secret Santa, but I'm having trouble, and I was wondering if you could help me?" she finished, blushing despite herself.

"Ahhh," Lucy said, a sly grin sneaking onto her face. "You're working on your heartfelt present for your favorite Iron Dragon, hmmm?" She started making obnoxious kissing sounds, drawing hearts in the air with her fingers, and Levy shushed her insistently, her face immediately going a brilliant shade of red.

"Stop that, Lu-chan! It's just a present!"

"Sure, sure," Lucy said, waving her off lazily, "Just a simple, lovingly made present straight from your heart – I thought you were going to give him yourself as his present, Levy?"

Levy was almost_ glowing _with the force of her blush.

"Lu-chan, stop it please!" she hissed. "I just need your help sewing or else I won't finish in time for Christmas!"

Lucy's ears perked up. "Sewing? What are you making him?"

"A...a blanket," Levy murmured, barely audible.

Lucy cooed, bringing both hands to her face. "A blanket! That's so cute! And then you guys can cuddle up together in it and do naughty things under the sheets and –"

"Stoppp it!" Levy finally shrieked, stomping both her small feet in a mix of utter embarrassment and frustration. Lucy did stop, but she was grinning like a cat.

"Fine, fine! I'll stop teasing, just wait here for me while I grab a few things and then we'll get to work!" She turned and ran inside, and Levy heard the sound of a closet door opening and clothes being flung out onto the floor.

Sighing, she leaned her head against Lucy's doorframe, trying to cool her raging blush on the cool metal. Why did Lucy always have to say such incriminating things? It always sent her thoughts wandering into strictly forbidden territory and ohh, now she wouldn't be able to even _look_ at her blanket without thinking about Gajeel and naughty things in the same sentence! She was still trying to erase those particularly alluring mental images when Lucy bounded out her door, dressed in a warm coat and matching set of scarf, hat and mittens.

"Let's go!" she said brightly and Levy grinned to cover her embarrassing thoughts, marveling a bit at her friend's ability to make any article of clothing look wonderful, following her as they set off for Fairy Hills.

* * *

An hour and a half later, they both sat back exhausted against Levy's bed. They had to tear out Levy's row of messy stitches on the first side and re-do them, and Levy despaired at how long that in itself had taken.

Lucy was marginally better at stitching than Levy was, since her etiquette training in the Heartfilia household had included embroidery, but Lucy had never really paid strict attention to the lessons, and the kindly matron in charge had never been one to force them on her either.

Now, they were both left with painful, pricked fingers, with only 2 and a half sides of the blanket to show for their trouble. Turning to her friend, Levy asked hopefully.

"It's a little late to ask now, but I don't suppose that you'd have a spirit who's good at stitching?"

Lucy thought carefully, going over her Spirits. Aquarius? No way in ever! She thought, shuddering at the thought of having to pay for the water damage repairs of a flooded Fairy Hills. Taurus, Saggitarius and Scorpio were pure combat spirits who probably wouldn't be able to help, and Cancer would be able to cut fabric for them if they needed, but not sew. Horologium, Plue, Lyra and Crux didn't have any special secondary ability that she knew of, and she shuddered at having to call Loke. He'd just spend the entire time swooning over them instead of actually helping, and she highly doubted that he would know anything about stitching anyways. Which left three possibilities.

Gemini wouldn't be helpful unless they transformed into someone who knew about fabric, but maybe Virgo or Aries knew something. Lucy stood up and pulled out a key, and Levy looked on in fascination as she began her Calling.

"Open! Gate of the White Lamb! Aries!" Lucy cried, and as she turned the key, Aries appeared in a puff of pink smoke, looking left and right at the towering piles of books all around her.

"I'm sorry!" She whispered, quickly bowing to Lucy and then Levy.

"You've done nothing wrong, Aries," Lucy said kindly, as Aries brought one slender hand to her face. Before she could start apologizing again, Lucy cut in quickly. "Aries, do you know anything about sewing or stitching?" Trembling, Aries shook her head, murmuring a quick apology.

"It's all right, but do you know if any of the other spirits might? Maybe Virgo?" Aries thought for a moment before shaking her head again. "I-I'm sorry, Lucy-san, but I don't know any Spirits that excel at needlework, I'm sorry!"

"Don't worry! Thanks for helping!" Lucy smiled as she closed the gate and Aries disappeared with a swirl of smoke.

Sitting down with a sigh, Lucy gave the blanket a moody glare. "Well, that didn't help at all. What about your magic, Levy-chan?" she asked, turning to her friend.

"Hmm, I don't know if it would work, since all my Solid Script does is manifest things"…Levy looked utterly dejected. Lucy stared at the needle thoughtfully before patting her friend's arm.

"Levy, why don't you try Repeat?"

"Repeat?" Lucy nodded, pointing to the needle still stabbed into the corner of the cloth. "You know, like repeating the stitching motion we make when we sew?"

Levy's brow furrowed as she thought it over. "It…It might actually work, Lu-chan!" Pulling a light pen off her desk, she penned the word in the air, directing it over the needle before releasing her magic. The word hung motionless for a second before the needle and thread started rattling. Both girls watched with bated breath to see what would happen.

Neither of them expected the needle to jump to life, cutting a frenetic pace of stitches through the cloth. Levy shrieked as it blazed over the fabric at an uncontrollable speed. She hastily dispelled her magic, but not before the needle had raced through all of one side and onto the wooden floorboard, denting itself into a 90-degree angle as it hit the hard surface repeatedly. Now one needle short, Levy tried not to scream as she realized the row of stitches wasn't straight. They would have to undo the entire side. She clutched her head and fought the overwhelming urge to burst into frustrated tears. This really wasn't working out at all.

"Oh, Lu-chan, this is hopeless! Maybe you should help me think of a different gift instead, because I won't ever get the hang of this…"

Lucy put a comforting arm around her friend, thinking of ways to solve their dilemma.

"Oh!" She lit up as an idea struck her. "Levy! I have an idea! I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier…Do you know where we could get our hands on a sewing machine? Maybe we could buy one or rent one?"

Levy sniffed sadly. "Where would they have one for rent? I don't really have the budget to buy a new one right now…"

"How about the place you bought your fabric?"

Levy gasped with sudden comprehension. "Oh! 40 Winks had a bunch of sewing machines, and they'd probably let me borrow one, but they close at 5! What time is it right now?"

They both glanced at the clock on Levy's wall and screamed. It was already 4:50.

"Let's go, Lucy! We have to hurry!"

"I'm right behind you!"

They sprinted out of Fairy Hills, loose papers drifting in the wake of their haste. They reached 40 Winks right as Magnolia's clock tower struck closing time. The owner of the shop, Gannon Garrisson, was just putting up a Closed sign on the outside of the shop as they ran up, puffing and winded from the long run.

"Mr. Garrisson!" Levy gasped.

The elderly storekeeper turned, smiling jovially as he recognized her. "Ah, you're the customer from this afternoon! Good to see you again, young miss!"

Levy puffed as she fought to regain her breath and speak at the same time. "Hello, Mr. Garrisson! I-I'm glad you recognize me, but I was actually hoping to ask you a favor before you leave…"

Gannon crossed both arms over his ample stomach, giving her a cheerful smile. "By all means, ask away, young miss! But you might want to catch your breath first!"

"Well…I started working on the project I told you about this afternoon, but…but I'm too slow, and I'll never be able to finish in time for Christmas! I was wondering, can I borrow one of your sewing machines?" She finished lamely, looking up sheepishly at the storekeeper.

Mr. Garrison produced a ring of keys from his pocket and unlocked the shop door, gesturing them in out of the cold. Once inside, he bustled about with an easy familiarity, coming back with a simple, white model which he put in a leather carrying case before handing it to Levy.

She gaped at him, taken aback by his cheerful generosity. "Sir, Is this really all right?"

He gave her a weathered smile, the crow's feet by his eyes deepening into familiar lines that spoke a long life of kind laughter. "You two are Fairy Tail mages and good kids. I'll even do you one better! If you have any more questions, bring the entire thing here and I can help you if you run into any trouble I can help you work it out."

"Oh, thank you so much Mr. Garrisson!" Levy bowed deeply, clutching the carrying case tightly to her.

He waved them off jovially. "It's no trouble at all! And please, call me Gannon!"

"Of course, thank you again, Gannon sir!"

His eyes twinkled as he locked the front door to the shop again. "The person who that present is meant for will appreciate all the time you spent making it."

Levy blushed hotly, almost dropping the carrying case. "Is it that obvious?"

"Yes." Lucy grinned behind her hand, as Gannon laughed heartily. "I can always recognize young love when I see it! Anyhow, young miss, It was good to see you again, now get to work!"

Levy pumped her fist. "I will!"

She high-fived Lucy, and they laughed with relief before starting back for Fairy Hills at a more reasonable pace. While a dead run was enough to get from Fairy Hills to the west edge of Magnolia in 10 minutes, the walking pace they took now would probably require a good 25 minutes before they got back, With the sun setting behind the clock tower and the streetlights and decorations buzzing to life all along the streets, Magnolia's holiday nights were wonderful to behold.

Levy linked her arm with Lucy's as they strolled through the streets, oohing and aahing as the festive decorations twined around the streetlights blinked to life in the shape of vibrant red poinsettias and glowing pine trees and snowflakes.

"I'm sorry for making you help me out, Lu-chan. It took up your entire day!" Levy said, turning guiltily to her friend. Lucy simply laughed and waved her concerns off. "Don't worry! After all, you want to give Gajeel the perfect present, don't you?" She winked cheerily at her friend, and Levy blushed helplessly, but nodded.

"Speaking of presents, Lu-chan, what are you getting for Natsu?" Levy asked innocently.

"Oh, that, I'm getting him a – HEYY, wait a second! How did you know I got Natsu?" Lucy squawked, turning to Levy with wide, suspicious eyes. Levy grinned slyly.

"Welll, I meant what you were getting him for a normal Christmas present, not the Secret Santa, but since I got Gajeel, I assumed that you got Natsu too!"

Lucy waved her arms frantically. "It's not like that at all!"

Levy giggled at her friend's sudden defensiveness. "Oh really?" She asked, waggling her eyebrows at her friend. "What _is_ it like then, Lu-chan, maybe you can enlighten me!"

"It's…we're not…" Lucy trailed off feebly and Levy took pity on her.

"All right, all right! What did you get him?"

Infinitely grateful for the subject change, Lucy vowed to tease Levy a little less in the future before replying.

"Well, I haven't gotten it yet, but I want to get him a lighter powered by a perpetual fire lacryma."

"Oooh, that's perfect for Natsu, but it's going to be so expensive!"

Lucy hung her head with a sound that might have been a sob, looking for a moment like one of Evergreen's statues.

"I knooow! I'm going to take on an extra mission tomorrow to make a little bit more money so that I can buy the lacryma in time for the party!"

Levy gave her arm a sympathetic squeeze. "Oh Lu-chan! I wish I could go with you, but even with the sewing machine, I think I'll have to work right up to the party to finish in time!"

Lucy groaned. "I know! I just hope that Natsu won't follow me, I don't' want him knowing what I'm up to!"

Levy grinned slyly at her friend. "I can try and distract him."

"How? Natsu has such a one-track mind!"

Levy shrugged. "I'll just tell Gajeel that he was looking at my butt, and then they'll be fighting the entire day!" she explained, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. Lucy's eye twitched as she looked at her petite best friend's perfectly innocent smile.

_Scary! _

They walked the rest of the way to Fairy Tail chatting happily about the great shopping deals and Christmas savings that were going on right now, prodding each other for hints about presents for other members (and each other). When they finally reached the girls' dorms, Lucy gave her friend an apologetic hug.

"I'm sorry I can't stay late to help, but I'm leaving early tomorrow for the mission and I've got to get some sleep! Not to mention that Natsu's probably in my…" She broke off in a fit of angry mumbling and Levy's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Natsu's in your _what_?" She asked.

"In my bed! He always just sneaks in without permission and waits for me until I come home!" Lucy groused angrily and Levy stared at her, open-mouthed before blushing _for_ her, completely embarrassed by the matter-of-fact way that Lucy had said something so private.

"I-I oh, um, I guess you better not keep him waiting!" She finally managed before exploding into a fit of embarrassed giggles. Lucy stared at her, confused before it finally dawned on her how terribly incriminating the situation sounded.

"No! No! Levy that's not what I meant and you know it!" She shrieked, waving her hands wildly in front of her. Levy was shaking with laughter, leaning against the front door of Fairy Hills so that she wouldn't collapse into the snow.

"Sure!" she managed between fits of laughter. "H-have a wonderful night, Lucy! Try not to wake up too tired!"

She waved her hand weakly at the still-objecting Lucy as she opened Fairy Hills' front door and slipped inside, still chortling. Climbing the stairs to her room, she hitched the strap of the carrying case on her shoulder a little higher, her heart a little brighter. She'd work a bit before going to bed, and hopefully, she'd be able to finish much quicker now that she had the sewing machine with her!

* * *

Late that night, long after the gibbous moon had begun to descend across the ink-black winter sky, a single window remained lit in Fairy Hills, the winking light the only one in the entire building.

Levy sat back with a tired sigh, surveying her work so far. Her previous attempt was too far gone to fix, even with the sewing machine, and the time it would take to pull out all those stitches…she shuddered in horror. Luckily, she had anticipated mistakes, and had the foresight to buy an extra set of fabric that afternoon, so she'd used the initial set as fodder to get used to the machine, running the cloth repeatedly through the clacking lip until she felt familiar enough with it to start work on the actual project.

With painstaking precision, she'd pressed the new set of fabric through the machine, marveling at the ease with which it was able to so cleanly meld the cloth together. It was such a far cry from her awkward amateur's stitches! She'd managed to sew up three sides, and now she was stuffing the interior with warm silk-coon padding, making sure it lay evenly in its cotton shell before she sewed up the fourth side of the blanket.

Tomorrow, she would attach the plush underside, and then all that was left would be the decorative embroidery and the steel details, which, unfortunately, would have to be done by hand. She sighed again at the thought of all the work that still awaited her. Still, if Gajeel liked it in the end, then all this would be worth it. Her heart fluttered with trepidation in her chest. _Please let him like it!_

Bowing her head, she wiped the fatigue from her eyes, shifting on her sore knees before she got back to work, knowing that the more she got done tonight meant the less she would have to do tomorrow!

* * *

End Chapter 2

Next chapter- Now that we have an inkling as to what Gajeel and Levy have planned for each other, the question remains: What is everyone else doing?


	3. Their Tribulations

CHAPTER 3 START

A/N – So now we know that Levy's making Gajeel a blanket. Lucy's getting Natsu a lighter and Natsu's making her a keychain. Gajeel is making Levy a – secret~ haha.

What are the other Guild members up to?

* * *

Levy and Gajeel weren't the only ones having trouble with their presents. All throughout the Guild, mages were stewing over the perfect present for their all-important Secret Santa partner.

That afternoon, after Natsu and Gajeel had left to work on their secretive project, Mira watched as her brother sweated and paced, worrying desperately over his gift. She smiled darkly behind one slender hand. She had assigned him Evergreen after they had pulled that horrifying prank on her during the S-class exams. It was her little way of taking revenge, but she didn't know who it was affecting more, her or Elfman. Unbidden, she had a sudden mental flash of a potential niece, and she sank onto her knees in tears and sobbed brokenly as she imagined Evergreen's face with…with Elfman's body.

"Sis?"

It was Lisanna, looking at her with obvious concern. She blinked back her momentary tears and smiled blearily at her little sister. "Don't worry about me, Lisanna, I'm fine, I just-" That horrible image flashed through her mind again and she covered her face with both hands, weeping with horror. Lisanna patted her sister's shoulder comfortingly, seeing her sorrow, but unable to comprehend the deep, evil root of it.

Looking up, she watched Elfman pacing like a trapped beast, muttering to himself and occasionally tearing at his hair. Her brow furrowed as she looked back at Mirajane, who was sniffling and murmuring something that sounded like "No, no, please don't let it happen," under her breath.

She hadn't remembered the holidays being so stressful that they would reduce _both_ her siblings to tears! But then again - she smiled fondly at the sight of a weeping Mirajane – there were a lot of things that had changed in her absence. Gently patting her sister's back, she waited until her tears subsided before asking "What's wrong with Elf-bro?"

"I think he's just having some trouble with his present, that's all," Mirajane sniffled. Lisanna brightened. "Oh! If that's all, then why don't I go and help him out?"

Mira smiled through her tears. "I'm sure he would appreciate that very much!"

Without further ado, Lisanna hopped off the bar stool and walked over to her big brother, who was sitting on one of the long tables with his head in both hands.

"Elf-bro!" she called cheerily, taking a seat next to him. "What's wrong? Why the long face?"

"This…THIS MAN CANNOT THINK OF A FITTING PRESENT!" He yelled, and Lisanna smiled weakly as he started to howl in frustration.

"C-calm down, big brother! I'll try and help you!"

Elfman's howls subsided into subdued muttering and Lisanna patted his arm comfortingly.

"Who's your partner?"

Elfman pouted and for a second, he looked much more like the brother she remembered.

"REAL men do not so easily give up their secrets. At least not until after Christmas."

"But if I don't know who your partner is, how can I help you think of gift ideas?" She cajoled.

His jaw set as he thought about it before finally leaning to whisper. "It's…it's Evergreen."

"Ohhh…"

To tell the truth, Lisanna didn't really know much about Evergreen. None of them really did, since the Raijinshuu hadn't been very forthcoming with their personal lives even after Laxus had left. But out of all three of the Thunder Guard, she probably knew the least about Evergreen. _Probably because she's so scary_! She thought to herself with a chill.

Her eyes scrolled upwards to land on the aloof, beautiful face looking down at them from the second floor. Evergreen caught her gaze and turned away stiffly, but before that, Lisanna could have _sworn _that the stone empress had been watching her big brother.

"Well," she said kindly. "What do you know about her, Elf-bro?"

Elfman gritted his teeth, looking as if he was going to start shredding his hair again, and Lisanna quickly gripped his wrist to prevent it.

"Sh-She's scary…" he said, his voice low as he glanced at where Evergreen had been standing.

"Besides that," Lisanna encouraged. "Do you know what kind of things she likes? Her favorite colors?"

Elfman frowned as he racked his brains. Finally, "Fairies. Evergreen likes fairies."

"Good! That's a start, let's go look for fairy-related things then, Elf-bro!"

Lisanna stood up and tugged at her big brother's wrist until he stood up and reluctantly allowed himself to be dragged to Magnolia's main shopping center.

* * *

The Raijinshuu were gathered on the top floor in a secluded corner, and as one, they drew out their slips. Bixlow held his out and shook it.

"I got _Titania_. Of all the bad luck…" He gave a disapproving hiss as his dolls piped up "Bad luck!" "Titania!" "Bad luck!" He shushed them with a few soothing words.

Evergreen held hers delicately in two fingers, her voice shot through with disapproval.

"I got that blockhead Elfman."

Fried quietly overturned his own slip. "Mirajane."

Bixlow gave a raunchy wolf-whistle before breaking into raucous laughter and Evergreen gave him a pitying look. "Good luck finding something for the girl who has everything!" Bixlow chortled. Fried didn't even bother to respond. He already had a few ideas in mind, but there were things to arrange before he could make them happen.

"Have you already found presents for your partners?" he asked his fellow Thunder Guard members.

Bixlow shrugged, his tongue swirling along one canine confidently."Eh. I already found something. Even Titania shouldn't be able to resist, Baby!" His dolls grinned and bobbed up and down, speaking as one. "Irresistible!"

Evergreen shot Bixlow an unpleasant glare at his use of her much-coveted title, and slammed her fan angrily onto the table in front of them, discontent marring her usual perfect features.

"I can't figure out what an imbecile like Elfman would want!"

Fried gave her a sideways glance, hiding his surprise. "It isn't like you to consider what people actually _want_, Eve."

She flushed angrily. "You're the one who said that we should try and make nice with the rest of the Guild! I'm just…this is new for me!"

Fried nodded blandly, trying to hide a knowing grin. Bixlow wasn't as polite, cracking a huge tongue-waggling smirk at Evergreen. Unseen, they shared a victorious high-five under the table. They'd be collecting on their long-running bet with Cana and Erza about Evergreen and Elfman getting together any day now. Evergreen slammed her fist on the table, jolting them out of their stupid grins.

"Well?" She demanded. "Why are you two just sitting around? Talk! Do you have any ideas?"

"Do _you_?" Fried asked right back.

She sighed huffily, crossing her arms across her chest. "Yes. No. I don't know!"

"Hey, why don't you try something manly?" Bixlow sniggered. Evergreen snapped her fan open threateningly, but he didn't move, long used to her fits of pique.

"Well, I regret that I'll be unable to help, since I have other things to attend to, so I'll let Bixlow take over with potential ideas," Fried said, standing up smoothly and heading for the stairs.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Bixlow yelped." Don't leave me with her! You know she can be a harpy when she's pissy like this!" His dolls echoed him in their high voices, repeating the word "Harpy!" and "Pissy!" while giggling.

Fried just smirked as Evergreen yanked Bixlow backwards, digging her fingers into the slits of his visor. Her furious screeches and Bixlow's impudent retorts followed him all the way down.

"A harpy huh? You brain-dead puppeteer, I'll turn you AND your stupid dolls into driftwood by the time…"

* * *

Alzack was heading back to the Guild with a satisfied spring in his step as he thought of the warm, cinnamon-spiced cider that Mira had brought out just for the holidays. He'd been out all day looking for Secret Santa ideas, and he'd found a few things that would be absolutely perfect for Bisca! He couldn't wait to see her face when she opened up her presents! Sure, he was getting a few odd looks from other shoppers as a man holding a shockingly pink Heart Kreuz bag, but it was an indignity he was proud to suffer for his lovely Bisca!

He was strutting so confidently that he accidentally walked into a passerby, knocking several bags onto the floor. "Oh shoot! I'm sorry about that!" he stammered, kneeling and helping gather the fallen boxes and bags.

"Oh, please don't worry, it was my fault too!" The other shopper said, and they both reached for the final bag at the same time, hands landing on top of each other. They looked up and Alzack froze in shock. It was Bisca.

Laughing uneasily, they hastily retracted their hands, and there was an awkward moment of silence where neither of them moved before Bisca finally reached down and grabbed the errant bag, replacing it on her arm. Straightening, she turned to him with a bright cry of greeting, her face flushed lightly.

"Alzack! I-I didn't expect to see you here! "

"Same here, Bisca! So what_ are_ you doing here? Were you shopping?"

Bisca hurriedly stuffed her bags behind her, where they clashed against each other in a cacophony of crumpling paper. She winced. "Oh! That's…These are just…it's nothing! What about you? Is that for a girlfriend?" She asked quickly, pointing to the prominent pink wrapping that was peeking out of his Heart Kreuz bag.

"That! Oh! Haha, no, it's not like that at all! You see, that's just…it…it's a present for my mother!"

Bisca giggled nervously and they dissolved into stilted, awkward laughter that trailed rapidly into a deathly silence. Alzack fingered his desperately embarrassing _god,_ _why was it so pink_ Heart Kreruz bag as the seconds ticked past before finally blurting out "Well, I – I better get going!"

Bisca tittered and tried to wave with her bag-laden arm, which only resulted in a few of her purchases nearly sliding out, and she had to do a clipped half-step and quickly lower her arm to prevent them from escaping. "Y-yeah! Me too! See you later!"

They waved jerkily to each other, but as Alzack moved to leave, Bisca stepped in the same direction. "Oh! I'm sorry, blocking your way there."

"Haha, don't worry about it…"

They moved, again in the same direction.

"Sorry again!"

"No, it was my fault…"

They had to repeat this awkward shuffle two more times before they finally cleared each other, and Bisca gave Alzack a small wave, which he returned with a glassy smile before turning and speed-walking down the street with his head down, trying to hide his atomic blush under his long bangs. Oh my god! Why was he such a fumbling idiot in front of her! A present for his mother? What a _lame_ excuse! Couldn't he have come up with anything better?

Even as Alzack was beating himself up, Bisca was walking away just as quickly in the opposite direction, the rapid click of her boots pattering a furious pace across the cobblestones. She was blushing too, unconsciously creating a massive fashion faux-pas as her red face clashed terribly with her green hair. Other shoppers walking by gave her curious stares, and one small boy tugged his mother's hand with an enthusiastic cry of "Look! Her face is decorated in Christmas colors!" but Bisca didn't hear, because she was too busy feeling mortified by her _completely _unseemly behavior in front of Alzack.

How could a casual conversation with him reduce her to a stuttering, blushing schoolgirl? She had actually tittered! Tittered like a self-conscious teenage girl around her crush, which…was actually not too far from the truth, she thought, sitting down on a bench and burying her face in both hands. To make things worse, she had been carrying his present with her, what if he knew what she was getting him now? Groaning, she patted her face with both hands until her blush subsided.

"Calm down, cowgirl!" She said out loud, with more conviction than she felt. No point worrying over spilt milk when it was already spilt. With a huge sigh, she picked up her two special purchases, opening one box and setting it on her lap.

A pair of finely-tooled leather boots with bright silver spurs looked back at her, and she had been _so _happy when she picked the design because it seemed to suit him perfectly, but now she fretted, plucking at her hair and chewing her lip with indecision. What if he didn't like them? Maybe the spurs were too gaudy…Was he even the type of guy who would wear boots?

She packed the boots back into the box, unable to look at them anymore, and pulled out the other package, gently parting the tissue paper to reveal a beautifully crafted pair of leather holsters, decorated with ornate silver detailing which perfectly matched the boots.

She had commissioned the boots and the holsters the instant she got Alzack as her Secret Santa partner, and had waited a whole two weeks for the craftsman to finish, but now her enthusiasm dimmed into uncertainty as she ran her hands carefully over the fine leather, wondering if he would even use them. Alzack had always been more of a practical guy…would he think that these were too showy? What if…What if he returned them?

A familiar voice broke her out of her downhearted musing.

"Bisca-san?"

She looked up to see Juvia, who was watching her shyly, her arms filled to overflowing with all sorts of bags and boxes.

"Juvia!" She cried, jumping up and hugging the water mage with a huge crunch of paper and cardboard boxes. Juvia froze in surprise, but returned the hug gladly with one laden arm.

"What are you doing here?" She asked enthusiastically, sitting back on the bench and clearing a space for Juvia next to her. The water mage sat with a grateful sigh, stretching her legs in front of her as she put down her multitude of purchases.

"Juvia is here buying presents for Gr- for her Secret Santa partner." Her cheeks turned slightly pink and Bisca grinned before asking the requisite "Who's your partner?" although she already had a pretty good idea.

Juvia's blush deepened, and she looked away before answering in a barely-audible whisper "J-Juvia's partner is Gray-sama."

"Oh! You got Gray? That's wonderful!" Bisca cheered.

"Isn't it?" Juvia gushed back before her demeanor shifted abruptly. "Wait. Are you saying that Gray-sama is wonderful? Are you Juvia's love-rival for Gray-sama as well?"

Bisca shifted away slowly as Juvia's hair started swirling upwards in a backdraft of magical energy, her eyes crackling dangerously as a peal of thunder rang out overhead. She held her hands up placatingly.

"N-no! Not at all! I meant that it's so wonderful that you got Gray, because he obviously doesn't belong with anyone besides you!"

Juvia's dangerous aura melted away instantly, and she brought both hands to her face, blushing demurely. "Do you really think so, Bisca-san?" She asked tremulously, eyes bright with unshed tears. Bisca nodded rapidly, diverting things back to safer territory.

"Sooo, what did you get him?"

"W-well…" Juvia reached for her legion of bags and started pulling items out of them, pushing them into Bisca's arms. "Juvia got Gray-sama _this _and _this_ but then Juvia thought that it might be too showy, so Juvia got Gray-sama _this_ and _these_ instead and then…"

Bisca was rapidly disappearing in a veritable flood of presents, and she had to yell to snatch Juvia's attention away from her feverish love for Gray.

"Juvia! Juvia! Wait a minute!"

Juvia turned breathlessly back to her. "Yes, Bisca-san?"

Bisca's arms collapsed at that moment, sending the tower of presents tumbling onto the floor. She gasped and started picking them back up, stammering her apologies. When the majority of the presents were back in their bags, she turned back to Juvia with a sheepish grin.

"Juvia-chan…Don't you think that this is a bit too much?"

Juvia's lower lip trembled perilously. "Is it really? I…I never thought of it that way…Oh, what will Gray-sama think?"

She slid off the bench to her knees in a pool of dejection, sorrow radiating from her in a visible cloud. Bisca looked up nervously as thunder rumbled darkly above her. Kneeling next to Juvia, she put a comforting arm around her shoulders, ignoring how her friend was, quite literally, turning into a puddle of misery.

"It's nothing to worry about, Juvia! I'm sure you only have Gray's best interests in mind. Why don't we go back home and I'll help you narrow it down so that you can give him the perfect present?"

Juvia looked up at Bisca, her face the picture of utter despair.

"Y-you would really do that for Juvia?" She asked, voice wobbling.

Bisca nodded assertively. "Of course! You're my friend and Gray's my friend too! I just want to see you both happy!"

Juvia gave her a watery smile, and the gathering stormclouds dispersed slowly back into grey winter skies. "Thank you so much, Bisca-san!"

"Of course, and just call me Bisca from now on!" Bisca said sternly as she helped Juvia back to her feet, gathering her bags as they headed for Fairy Hills together.

* * *

A few hours later, Bisca bid her friend a fond farewell and headed back to her own room with her purchases in tow. She tossed the bags haphazardly onto her bed and fell face-first into her pillow with a relieved groan.

Tor-chan, her tiger, strode up with a concerned rumble, and she rubbed his ears as her menagerie of animals clamored in concern around her bed.

"It's all right guys! It's just been a reallly long day."

She blushed and shuddered at her recollection of some the more…daring of some of Juvia's purchases. She hadn't even known that they made such revealing clothing for men! After going through the immense number of potential presents that Juvia had bought, they'd manage to narrow the flood down to a single, ingenious bangle that allowed the user to requip into clothes from their closet at will. Juvia had been hesitant about that particular present because she preferred to, in her words "see Gray-sama's gorgeous, uncovered body at all times~!" but Bisca (blushing hotly at Juvia's blatant lack of shame) had insisted that Gray would appreciate the bangle greatly.

After sifting through the gifts for so long and keeping up a good game face in front of Juvia's glowing love for Gray, Bisca felt completely drained, but - she glanced up at the clock - it was only 4 o'clock! Well, on the plus side, she still had plenty of time to head over to the Guild, and Mira had said that she'd be opening a new barrel of that delicious cinnamon-spiced cider today! Her mouth watered at the thought and she decided that she'd go to the Guild for a quick drink and visit before coming back for her much-deserved bath.

Patting the nuzzling heads, fluffing feathers and smooth scales of her creatures, she bid them a fond farewell, promising to come back soon as their cries rang out from behind her closed door.

* * *

As she was reaching the end of the descending staircase in front of Fairy Hills, she heard a bright voice calling her name. Turning, she saw Levy, who was flying down the stairs, struggling into a warm jacket to brave the cold trek to the Guild Hall.

"Bisca! Wait for me!"

Bisca waved cheerily at the smaller girl, waiting until she caught up before they fell into step together. "Are you going to the Guild right now, Bisca? Levy asked breathlessly, pushing a bright blue tress behind her ear.

"Yeah, I am!" the sniper replied. "I heard that Mira has this delicious new drink…"

"Ooh, me too! I can't wait to try some!"

Bisca took in the shadows under Levy's eyes and her disheveled hair before asking "Levy, have you been up all night?"

Levy grimaced. "Yeah…I've been working on Ga- on my present for the Secret Santa. It's taking longer than I thought it would…"

"What are you making?" Bisca asked curiously.

Levy held up her hands to reveal bandaged fingers and laughed. "I'm sewing a blanket!"

Bisca's eyebrows jumped upwards in surprise. "Really! Who is it for?" She asked slyly, jogging Levy's side and waggling her eyebrows.

Levy giggled weakly. "That's…Well…"

"Ga-something, right? Why don't I take a guess, then? Juvia's got Gray, so yours must be for Gajeel-kun, now wouldn't it?"

"Biscaaaa!" Levy wailed, turning red. Bisca giggled. "I knew it! Don't worry! I won't tell anyone!"

Levy blushed, but nodded. "W-what about you, Bisca? Who did you get?"

Bisca just winked at her friend. "It's a secre~t!"

Levy whined and prodded the entire rest of the way to the Guild, but Bisca kept her mouth firmly shut. When the Guild Building finally came into sight, Bisca gave a relieved sigh at successfully escaping Levy's probing questions. As they approached the Main Hall though, Bisca gasped as she saw Alzack walking out. He froze in place as he caught sight of her, and they grinned shyly as they walked past each other, Bisca entering the Guild Hall right as Alzack exited.

Levy, who was just a step behind Bisca, was stopped dead in her tracks as she ran into a wall that had suddenly bloomed upwards from the floor in front of her. Bisca and Alzack found themselves in the same situation, and all three issued a scandalized "Ow!" as they ran into the invisible barriers.

"What is this?" Bisca and Alzack chorused. Bisca banged her fists on the wall, and red denial runes spread outwards from the point of impact. Levy, who was locked out of the Guild on the other side of the barrier, did the same, rapping her knuckles on the invisible square that Bisca and Alzack were trapped in.

"A…a rune trap? This is…Fried! Fried, what have you done?" She cried, crouching and trying to look past Bisca and Alzack into the Guild. Fried, who had been sitting casually by the bar, glanced up with a satisfied smile. He had been waiting for some mice to fall into his trap for a while now.

"Ah, you two are the second pair to be caught today. Please direct your eyes upwards."

Alzack, Bisca and Levy all craned their necks up. Alzack went pale and Bisca turned a violent shade of red as they both recognized a small plant with delicate white berries hanging over the entrance to the Guild. Levy started giggling as she realized what had happened.

"I-Is that…" Alzack stammered

"Mistletoe?" Bisca asked, her voice a squeak.

"Mistletoe!" Levy confirmed, dissolving into gasping laughter on the other side of the barrier as her friends squirmed uncomfortably in the small square. Fried nodded, getting up from his place at the bar and making his way through the growing crowd of Fairy Tail members, who had all gathered to watch in teeming anticipation.

Spreading his arms out in a grand gesture, he announced "The rules for escaping this rune trap are simple. Any two people caught under the mistletoe will be trapped until they kiss. Once you kiss, the rune wall will disappear. It is as simple as that."

Alzack and Bisca blushed hotly as the assorted mages ooh'd at Fried's words before turning back to them with bright, eager eyes. The inevitable chanting started, swelling to a roar.

"Kiss, Kiss, Kiss, Kiss!"

Bisca turned to Levy for help, eyes beseeching, to find her friend clapping along and chanting right with the rest of the crowd.

"Levy, please! Help us get out of here!"

Alzack joined in, giving Levy his most pleading eyes, but Levy, the master of huge, pleading eyes herself, was completely and totally immune to Alzack's sad attempt.

"Nuh-uh!" She said, wagging her finger at them with a huge grin. "You know what you have to do to get out! Now c'mon! We're all waaaiting~!"

Bisca bonked her head against the barrier repeatedly, causing red denials to spread out in circular ripples. All she wanted was a warm drink before her shower, couldn't her life be a bit simpler than this? She groaned and sank to her knees, her hat tipping forward to block her eyes as she hid her face with both hands. She sat silently until a tentative "Bisca?" sounded by her ear.

Peeking through her fingers , she saw Alzack squatting next to her, his hand extended hesitantly to touch her shoulder. The moment she looked up, he retracted his hand instantly, and her heart gave a disappointed twinge.

"Don't cry," he said, his voice shaking the tiniest bit.

She sighed and let her hands drop into her lap. "I'm not _crying_, I'm just…this is…"

She twitched in surprise as Alzack's hands landed squarely on either side of her face. She gave him a wide-eyed stare, mouth falling open in surprise.

"I'm sorry about this, Bisca." He was blushing, but resolute, and before Bisca could say anything, Alzack leaned forward and touched his lips to hers in a chaste, perfectly gentlemanly kiss that didn't last _nearly_ as long as she wanted it to.

The rune barrier immediately dispersed around them, and every mage in the vicinity loosed a cheer loud enough to shake the rafters, but Bisca didn't see any of that, because the moment the barrier was gone, Alzack was on his feet and gone in a swirl of brown canvas, leaving her red-faced, open-mouthed and flabbergasted on the floor, mind still trying to process what had just happened.

Levy ran in and hauled Bisca's arm around her small shoulders, hefting the taller girl to her feet as mages caroused around them, patting Bisca on the back and shoulders and congratulating her enthusiastically.

"Yay! Congratulations, Bisca!" Levy cheered right along as she maneuvered the stunned sniper to the bar, settling her onto one of the bar stools before clapping her hands brightly. Bisca, still red-faced, didn't even acknowledge her, and Levy waved one hand in front of her face, with no response. She shrugged at Jet and Droy, who had immediately bounced to her side when they saw her enter and pulled them away, giving Bisca her privacy.

"I think she's in shock," she confided to her teammates, and they snuck to their usual corner to laugh about it more openly as they toasted their friends' good luck with some of the holiday cider.

"So what have you two been up to while I wasn't here?" Levy asked brightly after a deep swig of her drink. To her surprise, Jet and Droy both turned an appalling shade of green and spun away from each other to sit at opposite ends of the long table, leaving Levy, for once, alone in the middle. She looked left and right at their sour faces before taking another huge gulp.

"That bad, huh?" She asked wryly before pulling a book out of her bag and reading between contented sips.

* * *

Mirajane and Fried glanced down the bar at Bisca, who was still staring woodenly in front of her. She hadn't moved in the five minutes since Levy had brought her in, and Mira was starting to get worried. She turned to Fried, her brow furrowed in concern.

"Oh Fried, was it too much? Am I overdoing things? I just wanted to get everybody into a festive mood, but I think I've killed Bisca!" Tears trembled at the edges of her eyes and Fried snorted at her melodrama before reaching out and smoothing away the worry mark between her eyes with his thumb.

"Don't be ridiculous, Mira. She'll be perfectly fine. Look, see, she's moving. Er..."

Bisca toppled slowly off her chair, her delayed reaction at being kissed by the boy of her dreams finally catching up to her and sending her already-frazzled brain into overdrive. Fried looked back at Mirajane with a guilty expression and she burst into tears as she caught his eye. Hhe winced and patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"Mira, there's no need for worry, she will recover eventually…" Mira sobbed harder and Fried stammered, trying to cover up his slip. "I-I mean, look at how happy her face is!"

Mira's sobs slowed to sniffles, and she lowered her hands to look before breaking into a watery smile.

"You're right, Fried! Bisca's smiling!"

He laughed awkwardly, still patting her shoulder.

"See? It worked after all. I'm positive that she's er…in the holiday spirit now."

Mira smiled brightly at him and placed her hand over his and gave him a gentle squeeze, all trace of her tears gone.

"Thank you, Fried! You always know how to make me feel better!"

He smiled weakly at her, glad that he was sitting because that _smile_ always made his knees go weak, and it would be completely unacceptable for him to collapse in an undignified pile at her feet. Looking left and right, she leaned forwards to whisper in his ear, and he had to fight the urge to lean back, because her proximity to him was…distressing. In a good way. He was just playing along, he thought, as he tilted his head to listen to her question, trying to ignore the whisper of her lips over his ear.

"So, I _must _know, who was the first pair caught in the trap?"

Fried smiled hugely, shaking with silent laughter.

"Who? Who?" Mirajane pressed, wiggling with curiosity.

"It was…it was Jet and Droy," Fried chuckled.

Mira's eyes went wide with surprise and she doubled over, her peals of laughter making everyone around her smile.

"Did they really…?" Mira trailed off, the question evident.

Fried smirked and nodded, "How else would they get out?" Mira broke into a fresh round of giggles.

"Well, Levy could have written them out," Mira giggled.

Fried stopped short in surprise. "I hadn't thought of that. I'd forgotten that she was able to break my runes. How careless of me to overlook that... "

Mira cupped her face in her hands and smiled at him conspiratorially. "I guess that means that Levy-chan and Gajeel-kun are going to require something special, then?"

Fried nodded, eyes already narrowed in thought, and Mira patted his arm.

"Thank you so much for helping me with my plan, Fried-kun. It was such a good idea!"

He smiled at her. "Only the best for you, Mirajane," and despite herself, Mira blushed under his gentle eyes.

* * *

As the days marched on towards Christmas, presents began appearing mysteriously under the tree. First came Erza's, a small package wrapped in silver paper, unmarked save for her name on a small, white tag. No matter how vigorously Erza shook it, nothing but a light fluttering came from inside. In the end, Natsu and Gray had to forcibly drag her away over her insistent yells of "I can figure out what's inside! Let me go! I can do it!"

She sat and stared intensely at the present from a distance away the rest of that afternoon, and people started taking the long way around after she blew Warren away for getting in her line of vision.

Next came Lucy's, a small package wrapped in bright red paper that was surprisingly heavy when lifted. Since Lucy wasn't back from her mission yet, Levy checked her present out for her, as did Gray, Erza and Happy. They couldn't come to a consensus, although they all agreed that it was too heavy to be underwear.

The mounting excitement in the air was palpable, and bets started to run wild as Guild members tried to predict who would get the most presents and what was inside. Charle's assistance was eagerly sought, but she scorned anyone who dared ask, wilting and leaving when _Wendy_ (her Wendy!) came to her for prediction help with an abashed grin.

As the number of presents under the tree swelled gradually, an orderly system, complete with nametags and assigned spaces, was established to prevent the fights that broke out over ownership. How people were able to debate this was dubious, since the presents were all clearly marked to their respective owners, but people shrugged and joined in on the fun anyways.

* * *

Levy checked her little pile of presents every day, and judging from the rectangular shape of the wrapping, it was perpetually books. She was alive with curiosity about who her Secret Santa was and what they had gotten her, but every present came with a "From:" sign, and she thanked their owners excitedly, but her curiosity remained unabated.

A mere two days away from the Christmas Eve Party, Levy spotted a new present in her growing pile, a good-sized gift wrapped rather crudely in festive green wrapping paper. She ran to it eagerly and picked it up, immediately surprised by the unexpected heft of the package. Fumbling for the tag, she cheered when she saw the conspicuously absent "From" category. This was her Secret Santa present! Finally!

She hugged it to her joyfully before setting it down carefully and running her fingers eagerly along the wrapping. Now to figure out what was inside. Shaking the package gently, she didn't even hear a thump against the walls. There was only a heavy, shifting weight within that completely baffled her questing shakes. With a sigh, she retreated back to her table, unable to concentrate on anything else now that her Secret Santa present had arrived. It was so hard waiting for Christmas to come! She laid her head down on the wooden table, puffing her hair out as it fell into her face.

She had completed Gajeel's present several days ago, but she was so proud of it that she couldn't bring herself to wrap it up yet, so she was giving it a test-run in her own bed to make sure it was comfortable, and it was! She gave herself a congratulatory mental pat on the back. _Good job, girl!_

Well, with the party only two days away, she would have to wrap it up tonight, but she was so reluctant to do it! Maybe…maybe it was because she might never see it again, and after all the hard work she had put into it, wouldn't it be such a shame if Gajeel shredded it instead of using it? It was so comfy…She sighed deeply and rolled her head along the table to look back at her present, eyeing it predatorily before her eyes wandered to Gajeel's much-smaller pile, barely visible past the low-hanging boughs and ornaments.

Poor Gajeel! He deserved more than the few, lonely packages in his assigned space, and she frowned angrily. She'd _definitely_ wrap his present tonight, and she'd make it huge and shiny and so pretty that _everyone_ would want it and–

"Hey Shorty."

She jolted upright in surprise, her hair flipping over her face in wild disarray as she scrambled to push it back.

"Gajeel! What are you doing here?"

"Hmf. It's my Guild too. What, am I not allowed here or something?"

She flushed, anger and embarrassment warring each other. "No! That's not what I meant! You haven't been around these past few days, were you on a mission?"

His eyes shifted to the tree for a split second before he shook his head.

"No. I've been busy, that's all."

Before she could ask anything else, he nudged her hands, where several of her fingers were still in bandages from her misadventures with the needle.

"How'd this happen?" he asked brusquely.

"Oh…this is…it's…" She floundered helplessly, dithering and flapping her hands about like some sort of strange bird. Oh gods above! She hadn't thought up an excuse because she could tell anyone else that she'd been working on the present, but the moment he opened the gift, her goose was cooked! He'd definitely know it was from her! She was the only one with needlework wounds all over her hands!

Gajeel was still waiting for her reply, his eyes starting to narrow suspiciously, so she sat up a little straighter and sallied her lie forwards.

"I-I burned myself while I was baking! It's dumb, huh? Because I forgot to use oven mitts when I touched the pan and then I dropped everything, and I was cleaning for hours!" She giggled fearfully, trying to soothe her frayed nerves.

The end of her giggle turned into a sharp squeak of surprise, and she jerked back instinctively as he captured her right hand. He gave her a single glare and she fell silent as he carefully examined her index finger, running his thumb lightly across the plaster-capped tip. Despite herself, she started blushing. How could anyone expect her _not_ to, when Gajeel's fingers were curled so warmly around hers?

He pressed the wrapping lightly, glancing back quickly to make sure he wasn't hurting her…before promptly ripping the bandage off. She yelped in surprise and tried to tug her hand back in vain, but he was already inspecting the wound in question, which…

"This isn't a burn."

His voice was flat, and Levy wilted as he dropped her hand back onto the table. She swallowed, caught in her lie, and opened her mouth to say…anything, but Gajeel cut her off with a jerk of his head.

"It doesn't matter. Just wanted to make sure it was nothing serious."

He swung himself off the table and strode out without another word, leaving Levy mouthing apologies futilely behind him, more confused than ever. He had been…worried about her? Her heart fluttered breathily in her chest and she shook her head. _No! Stop that!_ She was so busy trying to figure it out that she didn't even notice as Lucy slid into the seat next to her, an absolutely evil grin on her face.

"So, we've moved onto holding hands now, have we?"

Levy screamed in surprise, whirling to face her best friend. Why did people keep sneaking up on her?

"Lu-chan! I didn't notice you! When did you get back from your mission?"

Lucy was sitting right next to her, legs crossed, her face propped up on one hand. She gave Levy the easy smile of a cutthroat detective interrogating a prime suspect.

"That's not important. Talk."

"Lucy…come on, you know nothing happened!" Levy wailed.

"Really? Because from where I was standing, it sure looked like Gajeel just walked over here to hold your hand before he left," Lucy said, leaning forwards eagerly for the kill.

"That's not what happened at all! Didn't you see? He ripped my bandage off!" Levy protested, showing Lucy her stripped finger. Lucy's mouth fell open, and her eyebrows shot upwards.

"Oooh! I _didn't_ see that!"

Levy heaved a relieved sigh. Finally, Lucy was seeing things her way! But her friend's next words sent her into sputtering, blushing denial.

"So he came over, held your hand and ripped off an article of clothing before leaving!" Lucy clarified, fanning herself with one hand. "Levy-chan, you vixen! You two really shouldn't do such naughty things in public!"

Levy plonked her forehead onto the table, piling her hair over her face to hide her beet-red blush.

"No! Stop! Lu-chan! No! That's not…That's _not_ what happened at all! And a bandage isn't clothing at all! It's not even an accessory!"

"It was on your person, and he ripped it off of you," Lucy announced with finality, and she patted her friend sympathetically on the back, leaning down to whisper "I think he likes you," before skipping back to her table.

Levy just stayed where she was, occasionally hitting her head with a closed fist. Why did Lucy have to say such evil things?

* * *

The next day, as Gajeel strode into the Guild during the lazy mid-morning hours, he noticed that there was a present in his pile that hadn't been there the day before. It was a large, eye-catching package, wrapped beautifully in rich gold-and-silver toned paper, and finished with an enormous trailing bow and ribbons. He snorted. How ridiculously overdone, but his curiosity was piqued, and he approached the box, glancing around to make sure that no one was watching him as he reached out to grab it, hefting it experimentally with one arm. It was pretty light, and he immediately ruled out anything made of iron.

A tentative sniff confirmed that the present was from Levy, and an anticipatory thrill raced through him as he wondered what she had gotten him. He pressed his ear to the outside of the box and shook it, listening hard to the telltale thump. Fabric? The hard clunk of something metal against the container…what the hell was it?

He was in the process of shaking it nearly to bits when he realized that this was _Levy's_ present to him, and he'd feel guilty forever if he broke it before he even opened it, so he replaced it carefully, glancing around again to make sure no one had caught him in the act. He stalked away with an unsatisfied growl. He didn't like this part of Christmas. He'd never been one for patience.

* * *

And so the days counted down until the long-awaited Christmas Eve party. The entire _town_ seemed to still in anticipation, holding its breath in preparation for the party to break. Things were about to get good.

* * *

END CHAPTER 3

I'm a complete idiot when it comes to formatting dialogue :/

A/N explanations.

Timeline stuff - Everyone got their Secret Santa partner on the 1st of December, but most everybody procrastinated wildly. When Bisca and Juvia were shopping, it was the 18th of December.

About the "From" tags. As I was writing, I suddenly thought…crap…if you know who's giving who what, then you could naturally deduce your Secret Santa by process of elimination, but in this case, I'm assuming that there are far more members in the Guild than the ones we've been introduced to. In that case, it would be natural not to get presents for EVERYBODY, especially if you don't know someone that well (like Fried might not get a present for Juvia or Gajeel, etc but it doesn't mean that he was their Secret Santa). WHATEVER. It makes sense in my head!

Also, Levy hoped that Gajeel might be her SS, but she was too practical to actually believe it. She just thought that he didn't get her a present because he didn't give anyone else a present either. (She would know, after snooping through everyone's gifts to look for a present marked from him in the hopes that she'd get one too.) She also totally forgot about Gajeel's dragonslayer senses. Silly Levy. (I think a lot of people in the Guild tend to forget, actually)


	4. GiftWrap and Grand Finales

CHAPTER 3 START

A/N – damn, I didn't manage to make it in time for Christmas.

* * *

The Fairy Tail Christmas party was in full swing. While most of the Guild was already in a rowdy, drunken stupor in the days leading up to the celebration, now was an excuse for them to go absolutely wild, and Mirajane had broken out a barrel of eggnog that had everyone feeling delightfully warm and jolly.

Raucous singing and partying was happening in every corner of the Guild, and most members stumbled about in fine spirits, arms linked about each other as they tried to participate in the various Christmas games while unable to see or walk straight.

Max and Nav were clearly trying to play darts, but they kept on missing the dartboard and spiking the trio of Elfman, Jet and Droy as they sang loud, off-key carols from their perilous position behind the target. The drunker they got, the dirtier the lyrics became, punctuated at key intervals by yelps of pain from misplaced darts, and eventually, they were hauled off and dunked unceremoniously into the fresh-fallen snow outside, leaving them (relatively) sober and nursing huge bumps as Erza scowled dangerously over them.

Macao and Wakaba were in a similar state of drunken revel, engaged in an uproarious game of cards with a straight-faced (but most definitely plastered) Cana and a slurring Alzack, who Bisca had to keep prodding upright.

Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Juvia, Loke, Lisanna and _Bixlow_, of all people, were engaged in an extreme version of musical chairs, which was complicated by Juvia trying to sit in Gray's lap every time the music stopped while simultaneously trying to push Lucy off her chair. Bixlow was obviously cheating, having his dolls claim multiple chairs, necessitating much shoving and cursing to claim a seat. Eventually they disintegrated into a fight that demolished chairs and participants alike, and had to be forcibly pulled apart by Master Makarov himself.

Mirajane allowed herself to be pulled away from her barmaid duties for a single song, and following her example, Gajeel took the stage right after her. To his immense surprise, everyone was actually sloshed enough to cheer, although Natsu did attack him the moment he finished. (But that was to be expected, of course).

* * *

Levy's job in this whole boisterous mess was to give everyone Santa hats. She had covered a good portion of the guild, and fluffy red hats were seen on a majority of heads, because how could anyone refuse her?

All the girls had dressed up for the occasion in matching Christmas outfits, and Levy was no exception, looking wonderfully festive in a strapless dress of bright red velvet that was liberally bordered with white fur on the hem and along the bustline. Matching red sleeves with corresponding white trim ran from her upper arm to her wrist, and a cheerful Santa hat and a pair of black, knee-high stiletto boots completed her ensemble.

She had to step carefully in the high-heeled boots, which had _totally_ been Lucy's idea, but they did add about 3 inches to her petite stature! It was interesting being able to look people in the face, she thought, as she handed out hats left and right, a huge grin on her face as she ducked the odd dart and tankard flying her way with the ease of long practice.

She slowly made her way to the lull of activity near the back of the bar, approaching Gajeel as he sat with Pantherlily by his side, looking distinctly unpleased with all the rowdy celebration going on around him. She took the seat next to Pantherlily and started chatting with him, very much aware of how Gajeel had shifted slightly in his seat, turning his head at her approach to watch her.

Shyly, she offered Pantherlily a small red hat, which he took with surprising dignity and immediately capped over his ears. Levy squealed at how adorable he looked and instinctively picked up the black Exceed and kissed him, giving him an extra cuddle for good measure before setting him back down. Lily looked a bit shaken, but remarkably pleased. He turned and motioned to Gajeel, who was now facing the other way and sitting hunched with his arms crossed, looking extremely sour.

"What about this surly idiot? Does he get a hat too?"

Levy blushed and gripped her box of hats a little bit tighter before answering, loud enough that the surly idiot in question would be sure to hear.

"Of course Gajeel gets a hat! Otherwise he won't look ready for Christmas!"

She slipped off the bar stool to stand in front of the Iron Dragonslayer. He was looking particularly intimidating, with his eyes slitted and his fierce face on.

* * *

Pantherlily grinned and congratulated himself on turning Levy's attention to Gajeel. Not that he didn't like getting hugs and kisses from a cute girl, but it wasn't very dignified for a cat of his standing to be scooped up and cuddled like a small, black teddy bear. He emptied his cup of eggnog, turning it bottoms-up. Right then, he had the good fortune to see Happy waving at him from the ceiling.

Happy looked _ridiculous_. He was wearing a green elf outfit, complete with fur lining, pointy shoes, and…were those reindeer antlers? Was he a reindeer or an elf? More importantly, in one paw, he held a small green plant. Gesturing to Gajeel and Levy, Happy grinned and made shooing motions with his other paw. Lily winked and gave Happy a subtle thumbs-up before quietly setting his mug down on the bar.

Levy and Gajeel were in full conversation and Lily smirked at how much it looked like flirting. All the better for him, he thought, slipping discreetly off his bar stool and landing silently on the ground. When they were in that kind of funk, they tended to tunnel-vision in on each other and exclude everybody else. He slunk through the crowd to a seat further up the bar before giving Happy a thumbs-up and a huge grin.

Happy gave him a wink in return before he fluttered silently over the two mages and carefully pinned the mistletoe to the ceiling with a small nail. Job finished, he threw a salute at Mirajane, who gave him a grateful wave, before zooming back to Natsu.

An invisible rune barrier erected itself around the two mages right as Happy's tailtip exited the mistletoe zone, but they were completely oblivious, caught in the flow of their own conversation.

* * *

Gajeel had been trying to give Levy the runabout for a while now. He crossed his arms, trying hard not to stare at her _way too short_ outfit (who the hell had been in charge of designing those?) and glared at her, but she absolutely refused to budge.

"I'm not wearing one of those hats," he told her flatly.

"But Gajeel..."

The Iron Dragon tried not to wince at her disappointed sigh. He wasn't prepared for her to step forward until she was uncomfortably close as she fished about in her box. He found himself edging backwards on the narrow bar stool until his back hit the bar. Trapped. He hissed sharply as Levy pulled his hat out and looked up, beaming.  
"Well, if you won't put the hat on yourself" – her eyes practically s_parkled_ with conviction – "then I guess I'll have to put it on for you!"

Holding the white rim of the hat in both hands, she advanced on him and tried to pull it over his head. He ducked instinctively, holding up one arm to ward her off, but she knocked it aside mercilessly and jumped forward to tug the stupid red hat firmly over his hair. She caught his hands as he brought them up, ready to uproot the stupid thing and hurl it across the room. Holding him firmly, she smiled brightly at him.

"Gajeel, you can't! I got it on, so now you can't take it off for the rest of the night! You have to promise!"

He gaped at her, trying to ignore how close her face was, trying (failing) to ignore the warmth of her slender fingers on his wrists, and most _definitely_ trying to ignore the proximity of the warm, bare skin of her neck and shoulders and the tempting dip of her collarbones and, and – face flaming, he jerked his eyes back to her face. Finding his voice, he snarled "I don't remember making that kind of promise! What the hell?"

She gave him the Eyes. He'd long taken to calling it that because there was no other word or phrase descriptive enough to accurately describe what she did. It had to be some sort of mind control, because when she gave him that soft, pleading look, his brain would turn into oatmeal and without his consent, he'd find himself agreeing to do the most stupid things in the world for her.

So of course, when she gave him the Eyes and combo-d it with a "Pleeeaase, Gajeel?" Gajeel heard a voice that sounded suspiciously like his own saying "Erm. Yeah, sure. Whatever."

Levy let go of him and he could suddenly breathe again. He shook his head, feeling a little light-headed and trying to ignore how the fur-tipped pom-pom at the end of the hat swayed with his movements. Not Cool.

Levy was grinning at her small victory, looking so pleased that he wouldn't have been surprised if she broke out into a song and dance routine.

"Thank you so much, Gajeel! You look _so_ cute, and now you and Lily are matching!" She reached forward to pat his face and he leaned away from her fingers, scowling, but at her hurt look, he cursed viciously under his breath and straightened, letting her hand land squarely on his cheek.

She gave him a radiant smile and turned to go, a skip in her step as she - ran headfirst into the wall of runes that sparked to life around them.

"Ow!" She cried, holding her aching forehead before she suddenly realized what had happened. Wasn't this…? She whirled upwards to look, eyes alighting on the incriminating cluster of green leaves and white berries above her head.

"N-no way!" She wailed, covering her face with both hands and turning hopelessly red. Mages around them cheered wildly and catcalls went up all over the Guild as people turned to see how things would play out.

"Fried! Fried, you jerk! You had better take this down or else!" She yelled, banging the barrier frantically with both hands.

Fried, who had just finished toasting a job well done with Mirajane, only glanced over and gave Levy a shrug and a smug grin.

"What the hell is going on?"

A voice like grinding steel by her ear made her jump in surprise. It was Gajeel, and he looked _angry_. He hadn't been in the Guild for most of the past week, so he hadn't seen the rune traps in action during that time. His eyes were slitted dangerously now, and he looked ready to unleash an Iron Dragon Roar at the barrier.

"Oy, what the fuck is this?" He called over at Fried, rapping his knuckles on the invisible wall. "If you don't let me out of here in the next 5 seconds I'm going to break this barrier down and kick your pointy-haired ass!"

Fried smirked leisurely at the Iron Dragonslayer. "Right. Because that worked so well for you and Natsu last time this happened."

A vein popped out on Gajeel's forehead and with a snarl, he lunged towards Fried, barrier be damned – to be stopped by Levy's small hand on his upper arm and her cry of "Wait, Gajeel!"

He froze. She gave him an earnest look (why was she so red?) before letting him go, rolling her sleeves up confidently. "I can rewr-"

"Don't even try."

Fried flapped one hand at her as he hopped off his bar stool and cut through the boisterous crowd to reach them. "I made that one _especially _for you. You can try and write yourself out of it if you'd like, but without any reference books, you'd be stuck for a good week before you even managed to decode the first line."

He gave her a meaningful smile, flicking his eyes at Gajeel. "Besides, you know the easy way out of this."

Gajeel's eyes narrowed as he took in Levy's flaming blush, Fried's growing smile and the wild (mostly incoherent) cheering of the drunken mages surrounding them.

"Okay, just what the fuck is going on here?" he finally demanded, looking between Fried and Levy and trying to ignore the sneaking jealousy that was crawling up his spine. Levy looked down, blushing madly. "I-it's-"

"You're standing under the mistletoe." Fried pointed upwards, and Gajeel craned his neck to stare at the cluster of leaves, uncomprehending.

"So? What the fuck does that mean?"

Fried scoffed in disbelief. "You mean you don't know the grand tradition of having couples kiss under mistletoe on Christmas?"

Gajeel's mouth fell open and he stammered something unintelligible, a blush creeping up his neck as it finally dawned on him why he was trapped in the small box with Levy. Levy, already tomato-faced, was just staring woodenly at the floor. She suddenly jolted out of her daze.

"Wait! W-we aren't...There isn't just two of us, Lily's here too-?" She looked around frantically for the black Exceed, and spotted him sitting comfortably outside the barrier. He raised a paw and waved lazily at them as Fried snorted and downed the rest of his drink.

"As if I would make such a grievous flaw! The only variable here is how long you would like to stay trapped before following the rules," he smirked at them and walked back to Mirajane without a further word.

The crowd of mages that had gathered around Gajeel and Levy started whooping and chanting "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

Gajeel looked _apoplectic_ with rage and embarrassment as he yelled for them to shut up, and Levy wanted nothing more than for the ground to swallow her whole. She'd seen this happen to Bisca and several others in the days approaching the Christmas party, and of _course_ she had joined in the good-natured ribbing, but it was TOTALLY different when it was her turn! And why Gajeel? She thought desperately, covering her face again. All right, it was better than Jet or Droy, but of all the people to have to kiss…she would never live this down.

She hemmed and hawed, hoping that she wouldn't have to do anything, but Gajeel just stood there stupidly with his arms set like blocks of wood against his sides as they tried not to look at each other. When it became clear that he was going to be unhelpful, she sighed forlornly. There was nothing else to be done, and she really didn't want to be trapped in here for the next two weeks.

_Let's get this over with, then,_ she thought resignedly, and without further ado, she turned stiffly in Gajeel's direction and ignoring his inarticulate stuttering, she braced her hands awkwardly on his chest to support herself as she _leapt _forward, brushing her lips across his for the briefest of seconds.

With the requirement met, the rune barrier went down with a sigh, and Levy instantly fled as the crowd around them roared in appreciation. People surged forward, patting Gajeel vigorously on the back and shouting their unnecessary congratulations.

_Did they have a death wish?_ He thought darkly, gritting his teeth as someone particularly stupid tried to muss his hair through the hat that Levy had given him. Any other day, he would have blown them all the hell away, but right now, he ignored them (although a drunk, crying Elfman insisting on a manly kiss was _extremely_ difficult to ignore) and searched in vain for Levy, craning his neck to try and catch a glimpse of her bright blue hair above the crowd.

It was impossible. She was lost in the sea of red hats and drunken mages, and with a growl, he too fled the bar, which was now a scene of riotous merriment as people began pushing each other under the mistletoe, waiting for the barrier to take effect again.

* * *

Pantherlily ambled slowly to Gajeel, calmly taking his place next to his partner. The Iron Dragonslayer had escaped the main crush of the crowd and was sitting at one of the long tables upstairs where it was marginally quieter. Gajeel had chosen the higher vantage point so that he could keep an eye out over the festivities (_not for Levy_, he told himself unconvincingly). He scowled darkly at his cat as Lily turned to him with a grin.

"Jealous, Gajeel?" He patted the spot on his cheek where Levy had kissed him. Gajeel snorted, his jaw settling into a stubborn jut that was reserved for arguments with his cat.

"Whatever. She kissed me too."

Lily laughed heartily, slapping a small paw on the wooden counter. "Yeah sure, if you could call that sad brush a kiss! She was forced into it! Plus, she hugged me too," he added smugly.

Gajeel turned away from the Exceed with a sour expression. He couldn't really say anything to counter that. Lily patted Gajeel's arm patronizingly. "Don't worry, you'll get your chance someday."

The Black Exceed barely had time to duck as Gajeel's testy swipe nearly knocked him off the table. Sauntering away, he called back "Looks like someone's got a case of sour grapes!" before taking off from the second-story railing and soaring easily over the crowd to land on the bar next to Mirajane, hailing the white-haired barmaid and receiving another cup of eggnog along with her greeting.

Gajeel watched him go and crossed his arms angrily, resting his elbows on the table. He _wasn't _jealous at all, goddamit. He wasn't. He was just…fuck it, he felt like an idiot. Why the hell hadn't he just grabbed her and got the stupid thing over with? Why had he waited for her to make the first move? He buried his face in his arms, fighting back his blush as he recalled the whisper of her lips on his. Why had he hesitated?

Heaving an exasperated sigh, he let his chin thud onto the table, fighting back an irritated snarl when the stupid pom-pom flipped into his face as he continued scanning the crowd for a telltale shock of blue hair. He kept on coming back to Juvia, who was wearing the exact same hat and outfit, but Juvia was staring at Gray with a look of soppy adoration that he hoped to _never_ see on Levy's face. He scanned the crowd again and cursed darkly, starting to worry. Where the hell had Levy gone?

* * *

The girl in question was hiding outside, her breath frosting in white clouds over her face as she blew on her hands to warm them. It was freezing, but the cold night air felt good on her burning face, and she really didn't want to be subject to Lucy's inevitable interrogation about that…that _kiss_ (!) the moment she walked back into the guild, so she was waiting for everyone to down a few more drinks and forget what had happened before venturing back in.

_Did it really happen?_ She asked herself again. _Did I really just kiss Gajeel Redfox under the mistletoe? _Her face flamed to life and she pinched herself just to make sure she wasn't dreaming, fighting the urge to scream with…Victory? Happiness? Embarrassment? She couldn't tell!

She was wildly, deliriously happy, but at the same time, she couldn't believe that she'd been bold enough to pull off something that daring in front of the entire Guild! True…most of them were so sloshed that they wouldn't remember a thing in the morning, but Gajeel…Gajeel hadn't been drunk, and he wouldn't forget this. She was sure of that.

_But then again, how would you know, girl?_ She asked herself. _It's not like you kissed him deeply enough that you got to taste any alcohol or _– "AHHH!" She really did scream now, shaking her head violently as her blush returned, fivefold in intensity. Why was she thinking about tasting the Iron Dragon at all?

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" She moaned, hitting her forehead with one fist before stopping with a halfhearted "Ow…" remembering that she had run into Fried's barrier at the exact same spot. _Twice_.

She sank down into a crouch, shivering as she hugged her knees and leaned her back against the wall, balancing her weight on the pads of her feet (because her heels were deadly and unreliable.) She sighed miserably, sending a huge cloud of frosty white puffing upwards. Cool. She did it again, laughing as the white cloud ballooned around her face before drifting slowly upwards. This was actually kind of fun, she thought, trying to make shapes in the frosty air, then puffing out steam like a dragon. Speaking of dragons…

"No!" She said sharply, emphasizing it with another shake of her head. She rested her cheek against the soft velvet of her sleeve with another despondent sigh. Was she really that lame? There was really no reason to be so embarrassed, but she _was_, because Gajeel's opinion was important to her, and she had most definitely tarnished that opinion now that she had practically forced him into an unwanted kiss.

Still…there was nothing to be done about it now, she concluded sadly. All she could do was carry on being bright and cheerful and pretend that it had been the spirit of the holidays and Fried's rune barrier that had caused her to do something so rude.

But…but she didn't want that either! She didn't _want _to pretend like she hadn't wanted to kiss him, because in the end, she _had_ wanted to kiss him (very much, she admitted reluctantly), and what's more, she wanted Gajeel to like it, and maybe even to kiss her back. Was that asking too much? She buried her face into her sleeves. Why did love have to be so complicated?

Deciding that she'd deal with her tangled emotions later, she shivered, teeth chattering as she waited another 30 seconds before slipping back into the welcome warmth of the Guild, letting the rowdy laughter and holiday cheer wash her conflict away as she searched for her dropped box of hats back at the bar.

* * *

It was perfect timing, because right as she found her misplaced hats, the overhead lights dimmed, and Master Makarov, dressed as the world's smallest Santa in a red and white suit, complete with a fake, flowing beard, stepped onto the bar to make an announcement.

"Yo everyone! Well, it looks like you're all having a good time so far, but without further ado, let's move onto the part that REALLY matters!"

He clapped his hands twice, and the enormous Christmas tree burst into glowing fairy lights that drifted towards the ceiling before bursting into silent fireworks that sent multi-colored sparks drifting downwards towards the dazzled mages. Everyone ooh'd and aah'd at the beautiful sight, reaching upwards to try and catch a few of the bright sparks. Master Makarov grinned at the members' obvious delight before using Titan to transform into a very close approximation of Santa Claus. Patting his now-ample belly, his amplified voice boomed throughout the Guild.

"Merry Christmas to all you troublemakers! It's midnight, so go open your presents!"

A resounding cheer shook the Guild as there was an instantaneous scramble for the Christmas Tree. Bright wrapping and shiny ribbons flew into the air as the cacophony of ripping paper filled the Guild Hall. Master Makarov sat on the bar with his arms crossed and smiled contentedly at the sight of another successful year passing by as he watched over his beloved Guild.

* * *

All across the Guild, cries of delight rang out as overenthusiastic mages ripped open their long-awaited presents.

Erza, with far more savagery than was really necessary, tore open the small silver package that had been haunting her mind for the past few weeks. What she saw inside brought tears to her eyes.

"C-cake…"

It was a gift certificate to her favorite (and most expensive) patisserie in all of Magnolia. The lacquered card fell from her nerveless fingers as her mind danced over all the delicious assortments she could purchase. Natsu, his wrapped present still in hand, waved a hand across her eyes, with no response. Erza Scarlet was dead to the world, dreaming of sugarplums and shortcake.

Natsu shrugged at her blank expression before tearing into his own present, yanking out a small, silver lighter.

"AWESOME!" He yelled as he clicked it on and off repeatedly, pausing only to inhale the flames. "Oh man! This fire is so tasty!" He roared, tilting his head back and loosing a huge plume of dragonfire that caused shouts of alarm all around him. Ignoring the slightly-scorched mages around him, he ran to Gray, shouting "Gray! What did you get?"

"Dunno, I'm opening it now." Gray held up his present to show Natsu before tearing off the pink, heart-patterned wrapping paper. Juvia, who had ignored her own presents in lieu of watching Gray open her gift, gasped, tears swimming to her eyes. "S-such resolve, Gray-sama! So much passion for Juvia's present!"

Gray pulled out the simple box inside, opening it to hold up a simple bangle with a bewildered expression. "What the heck is this?"

Natsu shrugged, equally perplexed as he clicked the lighter again and again, eating the flame each time. "Is that all?" he asked, his mouth full.

Gray dipped his hand back into the box, and came up with…a tiny black speedo. He blushed wildly and threw the offending article of clothing away with a shout as Natsu choked with laughter. Unbeknownst to him, the speedo landed right on Juvia's face, and she fainted with shock, hearts drifting slowly out of her unconscious body.

* * *

Elfman tore through the fairy-decorated wrapping of his small present with a bellow.

"A MAN OPENS HIS PRESENT IMMEDIATELY!"

His manly shouts faded into a puzzled silence as he pulled out a silver chain with a simple oval pendant that – he looked a little closer – seemed to be made of some kind of opalescent lacryma?

"Keep it on you at all times," a cool voice called from behind him.

He turned around, jaw dropping in shock as he saw that it was "Evergreen!"

He looked again at the small necklace (which wasn't very manly at all, his inner voice commented, but he got the feeling that if he wanted to keep his balls, he shouldn't say that while she was around)

He settled for asking "What is this?" as he dangled the necklace between thumb and forefinger.

She snapped open her fan, and a wave of anxiety rolled through him as he noticed that she had switched her old fan out in favor of the elegant fan that he'd picked out for her with Lisanna. It was painted in a shade of forest green with hand-drawn fairies flitting gracefully across the wooded landscape on the canvas. And it complemented her eyes perfectly, making them look very green and soft, even behind the hard glint of her glasses, he thought vaguely.

"It suits you," he blurted out, and cowered as she glared at him.

"I'm not done talking!"

Clearing her throat and bringing the fan a little higher to hide her _completely_ unreasonable blush, Evergreen continued speaking, and he listened silently.

"That necklace is made of a lacryma that was designed especially for mages who use Take-Over magic," she explained. He stared at her, uncomprehending as she continued, fanning herself casually, her eyes cast casually downwards.

"It allows one to focus their mind more fully on their original form…so that a tragedy like yours will never have to repeat itself again." Her eyes flicked knowingly to Lisanna, who was cheerfully ripping a bright ribbon off her present, and then back to him as she snapped the beautiful fan shut, placing it back by her waist.

"Do you like it?" She asked, the barest hint of telltale nervousness wavering in her otherwise silken voice. Elfman looked at the talisman, then back at Evergreen. Despite himself, his eyes started to water, but Evergreen didn't expect Elfman to throw all 200-odd pounds of himself at her and crush her into an overwhelming hug.

She was ready to scream and beat him off when she realized he was trembling as he tried to contain himself, and she was so surprised by this that she stood rooted in place and just let him hug her. Finally, she turned her head to rest her face against his chest and placed her hands soothingly across his broad back, a reluctant, contented smile spreading slowly across her face.

Elfman swallowed tensely before he could finally manage a blubbery. "Thank you. It's the best present."

Evergreen smirked. What else would it be, coming from her?

"I thought that crying wasn't manly," she said.

He snuffled thickly. "Sometimes a man's tears are a sign of his appreciation,"

Evergreen laughed despite herself, hugged him a little tighter.

"I can allow that, I suppose."

* * *

Alzack grinned at the western-themed wrapping paper decorating his present before tearing into it with gusto. Two large boxes tumbled out, and he grabbed the larger one, flipping the top open to reveal…His jaw dropped and his eyes practically _glowed_ with awe as he ran his hands lightly over the tooled surface of the leather boots, testing the sharp edge of the silver spurs with the tip of one finger.

Setting down the box reverently, he turned to the other part of his present, opening the lid slowly this time, savoring the thrill of anticipation. He gasped as he saw the gorgeous holsters with their twinkling silver details, already imagining how unbearably _awesome_ he would look wearing them.

An anxious voice cut into his daydreaming. "D-do you like it?"

He looked up to see Bisca, and his heart twitched as he realized she was holding his present under her arm, still unopened.

"Bisca," he gasped, breaking into an instant blush. He still hadn't gotten over his embarrassment from kissing her under the mistletoe, and this was the first time he'd really seen her since that incident.

She bit her lip nervously, blushing as well. "Is it too much? Is it too gaudy? I still have the receipts if you want to return it…"

He looked from his presents to her in sudden realization. "Bisca, _you're_ my Secret Santa?"

She nodded timidly, breaking into a shy smile before glancing at his gifts again.

"Oh, I knew it…you don't like it because it's too flashy, right? I knew I should have chosen the other-" He held up a hand and shushed her gently. When he was sure she wouldn't start criticizing herself again, he kicked off his shoes, sitting down to pull the boots on and adjusting the silver spur to his liking. Pulling his revolvers out of their old holders, he twirled them expertly around his thumb before sheathing them in the new leather holsters, grinning roguishly as he fixed them firmly to his belt.

"Well, how do I look?" He asked shyly.

She was staring at him with a strange mix of adoration, respect and surprise, and it made his heart flutter wildly in his chest as he waited for her answer.

"Like a real cowboy," she finally replied, awestruck.

He laughed quietly, blushing and glancing down at himself before remembering that she hadn't opened her present yet. Motioning to the package under her arm, he asked. "What about your present?"

Bisca was so busy staring at him that she had totally forgotten about her unopened present. She jolted back to attention with a startled "Oh!" looking down at the package in consternation before laughing sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess I should, huh?"

She sat down next to him and ripped into the gold and green wrapping paper to reveal a pink-and-white striped…hatbox? Laughing with surprise, she yanked the lid off to reveal a white cowboy hat made of velvety suede and decorated with black stitching and silver trimming. Gasping with surprise, she lifted the hat out of the box, running her fingers across the smooth fabric.

Alzack smiled at the open joy on her face, his heart doing strange aerial acrobatics in his chest.

"That's not all," he said quickly, pointing to the pink mass of tissue paper inside the hatbox. Bisca glanced at him in surprise before turning back to her present and upending the hatbox. Tissue paper flew out, and with a whisper of fabric, a beautiful silk scarf eased its way out of the box, floating down to land softly among the pink Heart Kreuz wrappings. Bisca stared at the Heart Kreuz brand, sudden comprehension dawning in her eyes as she shot Alzack a surprised glance.

"You! It was you! Alzack, you're my Secret Santa!"

He nodded shyly, motioning to her opened presents. "Aren't you going to try them on?"

She just looked at him with her mouth open, clutching her presents with nerveless fingers, and he chuckled at her thunderstruck expression. "I guess I'll have to do it for you, then."

He scooted close to her and gently palmed her hat, before reaching over her to undo the tie of her scarf. Bisca blushed violently at his proximity, the warmth of his fingers against her neck.

Wordlessly, he tied the new scarf around her neck and placed the new hat on her head, pressing it firmly around the crown of her head before sitting back.

Well, how do I look? She sat up straighter as she asked him the same question, beaming and breathless with anticipation.

"You look like the most beautiful girl in the world," he said, and the pure honesty and sad longing in his eyes compelled her to leap into his arms and pull him into a crushing hug.

"Thank you," she murmured, and he replied vaguely, but she didn't hear what he said, because he cupped her face in one hand and leaned forward to kiss her and nothing else really mattered.

* * *

Levy shoved her way through the crowd, using her knees and elbows liberally in her haste to get to her presents. Nothing was going to stand in her way! Finally reaching her assigned square, she fell to her knees and eagerly grabbed her Secret Santa present, sliding one slender finger under a seam and ripping with enthusiastic abandon to reveal…a cardboard box.

Hands shaking with anticipation, she carefully undid the tape sealing the top, opening the flaps to reveal blocks of packing foam and colored tissue paper. She counted to three slowly before pushing aside the tissue paper, and what she saw inside the drab cardboard box took her breath away.

Her present was a pair of elegant steel bookends, crafted in the likeness of twin dragons, heads bowed to guard the books between them with shining silver teeth and claws. The level of detail worked into the steel dragons was so fine that it looked like filigree, and Levy held her breath as she gently touched an individual steel scale, which was so delicate that she was afraid that it would break under her touch. It remained firm and Levy ran her fingers carefully over the entire length of the dragon on its solid steel perch, silent with awe at the feral, carved beauty of the bright red gemstones that served as eyes.

Lucy bounced over to her friend, eyes alive with happiness. "Levy! Levy! Look at what Natsu made me! What did you get? Ohhhh..."

Lucy's voice died into quiet awe as Levy held her present up.

"Oh my god, it's _beautiful_," she breathed, reaching forward to carefully touch the metal nose of one dragon. Levy just nodded, still unable to speak.

"You do know that there's only one person who could do this, right?" Lucy asked, an understanding smile spreading over her face as she looked at her dumbstruck friend. Levy looked down at her present, gently stroking the silver nose of one dragon as she cradled it lovingly in the crook of her arm. When she looked back at her best friend, her face was tinged pink and she was smiling shyly as she nodded.

"Yeah. It…it has to be Gajeel-kun, huh?"

Lucy nodded enthusiastically. "Bingo! I KNEW that this would happen!" She caught Levy's wrist, grinning hugely. "I _told_ you that he liked you."

Levy blushed under her friend's dancing eyes, but she couldn't find the heart to deny it anymore.

"Anyways, look what Natsu made me!" Lucy said, letting Levy go and hitching her belt up to show Levy a red keychain in the shape of Fairy Tail's Guild insignia, already attached to her keyring. Levy leaned closer to look, making the necessary sounds of appreciation, but she stopped and gasped with surprise as she realized that the surface of the keychain was cut with subtle black facets, creating a shifting flow of color that seemed to reflect endlessly from a point of fire somewhere within the heart of the keychain.

"Wow! Lucy, it's beautiful! How did he even make this?" Levy asked, gently fingering the familiar shape of the symbol. Lucy laughed nervously, a faint blush creeping across her face.

"He told me that he fired it up with his heart, but I think that he's just making things up!"

Levy giggled at her friend's discomfort. "Really? That sounds awfully romantic to me!" She sat up straighter and thrust one fist forwards in an imitation of Natsu's stance, pitching her voice lower and mustering the most romantic tone she could manage. "Oh Lucy-hime, I used the unquenchable flames of my passionate heart to create your precious present."

"Oh stop it! Now _you're _the one making things up!"

Levy dissolved into giggles and threw a handful of ribbons at her friend. Lucy huffed with indignation and threw some back, and things quickly escalated into an impromptu wrapping-paper war as they laughed joyfully, completely content with the world in that moment.

* * *

Gajeel tore into his beautifully-wrapped present without preamble, ripping off the bright bow and tearing easily through the glossy paper. He wasn't prepared for…of all things, a _blanket(_?) to tumble out into his lap. He stared at it in complete surprise before gathering up the soft fabric in his arms, tossing the trailing ends over his shoulder.

He looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching him before he buried his nose in the plush, closed his eyes and_ breathed._ The entire blanket was suffused with the smell of _her_, the familiar, sweet smell of asterflower overlaid with hints of parchment and linen and ink and god, it was _glorious_. He flushed hotly at the thought that it might be HER blanket, but quickly put that idea to rest as he saw his name, neatly embroidered in a corner with a small heart behind it. He ran his hands through the plush and grinned as he saw steel buttons running along the edges of blanket. Cute. He shot a quick glance towards Levy's little square of presents, right in time to catch her reaction as she unwrapped his gift, and the look on her face made his heart stop and float giddily in his chest. God, that _smile_…and then the Bunny-chick had to barge into the scene and ruin it and he looked away with a scowl.

Gathering the blanket to him and grabbing the rest of his presents, he made his way to the empty second floor where he could unwrap the rest of his gifts without being jostled and watch Levy in peace.

* * *

As the excited shouting died down to delighted murmurs, Master Makarov clapped his hands again, and everyone looked up at him. He beamed at them before announcing "Now that you've all made a mess, tell your Secret Santa partner who you are! Let them know what present you got them!

Levy looked wildly about for Gajeel, clutching her present in its box as she made her way through the press of bodies to his space under the tree. It was empty, and there was no other sign of him save for discarded wrapping paper. Her heart sank and all the anticipatory excitement that had been swelling in her chest died with a whimper.

She looked down again at the amazing set of bookends, at the intricacy of the steel detailing. There was _no one_ else who could possibly do this besides him, but he hadn't thought it worth his time to actually tell her? Wrapped up in the glow of everyone else's cheer, Levy had never felt so particularly small or drab, but the night wasn't over yet, and she settled down in the vacated space to wait for him, putting on a brave smile as everyone hugged and laughed, cheering around her.

She saw Lucy grab Natsu's hands and pull him into a thankful hug, and she smiled brightly for her friend as Natsu's face flamed a brilliant red, a goofy smile spreading across his face. He burst out of her arms to yell and loose an overenthusiastic roar, and a pillar of fire shot out of his mouth…setting the enormous Christmas tree on fire. Mages stared at the crackling tree before screaming and running helter-skelter in all directions to get away.

Gray and Juvia were quick to combine their efforts and douse the fire, and everyone gave a rousing cheer as the fire gave a last feeble sputter before dying out. Juvia swooned breathily as Gray turned to ask her if she was all right, and collapsed into a dead faint as he put his hand on her shoulder, confused by her silence.

With that dramatic ending to wrap things up, the merry partygoers began to drift away in small groups, grabbing their presents and talking in excited murmurs as they compared gifts and called goodbyes for the night.

The Guild started to empty as mages filed out in twos and threes, but Levy continued her silent vigil, waiting for Gajeel under the scorched tree.

* * *

CHAPTER 4 END

A/N - Didn't go into as much detail as I could have for every single couple. Sorrys. I'll probably edit because I'm unsatisfied with some details so far. Anyhow, Where _did _the Gajeel go, I wonder? That jerk, leaving a girl waiting for him all by herself...

We're not done yet. Last chapter wraps things up with Gajeel and Levy. Will be posted around January.

Thanks for all your support. Your reviews make me smile, and I hope everyone had a great Christmas and got plenty of loot!


	5. Love on Christmas

CHAPTER 5 START

A/N - the last chapter!

* * *

Mirajane gave a relieved sigh as the last group of revelers left, calling out their farewells. She waved a cheerful goodbye after them before returning to the bar, resting her hands on her hips as she surveyed the damage left behind. A flicker of red caught her eye, and she turned to see Levy still sitting under the tree with a hopelessly sad expression that didn't belong on her sweet face.

"Levy, what are you still doing here?" she asked kindly.

Levy jolted up hopefully, wilting slowly as she realized it wasn't Gajeel, and Mirajane smiled at how hopelessly in love the girl was.

"Oh, Mira! Well, I was just…um." She trailed off awkwardly, and Mira walked over to sit down next to her and gave her a sympathetic hug.

"Don't worry about Gajeel-kun, I'm sure that he'll come to you on his own time."

Levy nodded sadly with a resigned sigh before mustering up her best smile.

"Thanks, Mira, and it really is getting late, isn't it? I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then!"

Mira waved her off, closing the door and locking up behind her. Finally alone, she sat back in her chair behind the bar and passed her hand over her eyes. She was so tired, but so happy! Her master plan had worked wonderfully, and she was looking forward to the steady stream of gossip that would be coming from her handiwork tonight. Getting up with a tired exclamation, she grabbed a broom and began cleaning up the destruction left in the wake of the party when a quiet voice broke her out of her musing.

"Mirajane?"

She turned around in surprise to see Fried, standing ramrod-straight at the end of the bar.

"Fried! You surprised me! I thought that everyone had already left ages ago!"

He walked over to her and gently took the broom away from her, leaning it against the bar as he caught both her hands instead.

"Fried, what - ?" She asked, blushing faintly, but he stilled her with a minute shake of his head, eyes bright with mischief.

"Leave the cleaning for tomorrow, Mira. It's Christmas."

She gasped in surprise as music rang out above them, a sonorous, playful waltz. Fried pulled her into the rhythm of the music and then they were sweeping across the Hall, shoes crunching over the paper-strewn floor, and it didn't matter that they were in the dark, half-destroyed Guild, with broken furniture and crumpled gift wrap and scorched pine needles scattered all across the floor, because she might as well have been in a grand ballroom, and with the way his gentle eyes focused solely on her face, he made her feel like _royalty_.

He twirled her away from him with one arm before reeling her back and taking a half-step forwards. Without warning, a rune barrier hummed to life around them. Mira gasped and looked at Fried, but he hadn't even glanced up, eyes still fixed on her face.

"Oh? It seems like I've caught us in one of my own traps," he said, smiling down at her. She smiled back, letting go of his hands to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Ah, that's true. What do we have to do to get out of it?"

He chuckled and pulled her firmly to him. "Well, the same thing as everyone else, obviously," before he pulled her into a wonderful, endless kiss that made all waiting and hoping worth her time.

When they finally broke apart, her eyes were bright with love and happiness as she asked breathlessly "Is that all for tonight, my not-so-Secret Santa?"

He chuckled, pulling away from her slightly to fish in his pockets.

"Of course not, Mira. You know me better than that."

He finally came up with a small box, which he opened to reveal a gleaming hairband, decorated with a rune attachment and bright red crystals along the outer edge. Mira gasped and then giggled as he gripped her bangs and pulled her old elastic off, replacing it gently with his own present.

"A protection rune," he murmured, as he affixed the elastic band carefully, "for the times when I must leave the Guild, at least this can accompany you every day, so that you have some keepsake of me by your side."

Mira gave him a beaming smile, reaching up to cup his face with one slender hand.

"Thank you, Fried. It's beautiful!"

He shushed her, reaching into his pocket again.

"I'm not done yet."

He pulled out a matching bracelet that looped in graceful red curves across her wrist as he fastened the clasp carefully.

"To amplify your magic," he explained, fingers lingering on her wrist before tracing the runes that decorated the bracelet. "This way, you will never have to worry about being unable to defend the ones you love."

He turned her hand over and laced his fingers through hers before giving her a shy smile that looked strange on his normally stolid face.

"Merry Christmas, Mirajane," he murmured, blushing as he cupped her face and leaned in to kiss her again. She was _glowing_ as they broke apart, and he smiled down at her, tenderness softening every line of his body. Mira gave a sudden gasp right then and he nearly leapt back with surprise as she started rummaging in her apron.

"Wait, Fried!"

She pulled out a small, beautifully wrapped box and presented it to him, bobbing on her toes with anticipation.

"What kind of Secret Santa would I be if I didn't get you a present too? Open it!" She exclaimed.

Fried chuckled at her eagerness and pulled the bow off, ripping apart the shiny wrapping and opening the small, white box to reveal an elegant pair of cufflinks, shaped in Fairy Tail's Guild symbol. Fried smiled widely and instantly undid his own cufflinks, replacing them with Mirajane's present.

"Tha-" he was cut off by Mira's hand over his mouth.

"Don't thank me yet! Let me show you what they do first!"

She twirled into his arms so that she was standing with her back pressed firm to his chest, and Fried blushed helplessly as she lifted both his arms to drape them over her shoulders, arranging his hands so that they pointed forwards.

Reaching out, she drew a thin line in the air between the two cufflinks, and he watched, dazzled as a shimmering yellow shield erupted into existence before him. She broke the line and the shield dissipated, and she twirled out of his arms to face him again.

"Do you like it?" She asked, swirling her long skirt bashfully.

"Of course," he said, regarding the tiny links with new respect. He would have liked any present she got him, but looking at her glowing smile, he didn't say that.

"I thought that since your magic sometimes takes time to set up, it would be great for you to have a way to defend yourself in a pinch," she explained, resting her hands on his upper arms and looking at him earnestly. He smiled down at her and drew her into a fierce hug, burying his face into her snow-white hair.

"Thank you, Mira, for being concerned about my safety."

"Always," she whispered back, fingers tight in his coat. The waltz, which had been playing in the background the whole time, mellowed into a dreamy croon, and naturally, they shifted into a slow dance to match it, arms wound firmly about each other, hearts radiating their shared content across the darkened Guild Hall.

* * *

Happy swooped merrily through the air, cutting sharp, gleeful circles above Natsu, who was staggering drunkenly below him on the white-coated path.

Charle had accepted his gift! Even though it was so strange that it wasn't fish, she had still liked it! Enough that she had actually thanked him! He put on an extra burst of speed, laughing as he cut through the air, only to squeal in surprise and fear as he suddenly caught sight of a terrifying apparition in a nearby tree.

"Natsu! Natsu! I think Gajeel's gone crazy!" He yelled, zooming back to Natsu, who was making his way dizzily along the path.

"Eh? What'sh that, Happy?" Natsu asked.

Happy directed his eyes upwards, where Gajeel was sitting in the branches of the large oak in Magnolia Crescent Park. Even stranger, the Iron Dragonslayer had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and was hunched angrily like some ruffled bird of prey. Pantherlily was flitting irately around Gajeel, and the black Exceed looked down as Natsu and Happy crunched to a stop in the snow underneath the overhanging branch.

Lily sighed crankily. "Oh good, maybe you two can convince this crazy idiot that he's throwing away the best thing that ever happened to him because of some stupid reason that he made up in his own fat, iron head!" Lily's small voice swelled to a roar as he directed the last part towards Gajeel.

"It's not a stupid reason and I didn't make it up!" Gajeel snarled right back, bringing the blanket up to cover his face, leaving only his slitted red eyes uncovered.

"Hey Gajeel! What the heck are you doing up there?" Natsu gave the Iron dragonslayer a bleary look. He still hadn't comprehended what was happening in the haze of his alcohol-fogged mind, and was actually convinced that the strange vision was some sort of hallucination, but as he caught sight of the blanket that Gajeel was clutching possessively, he brightened.

"Metal-head! Did you tell Levy that you liked her present?"

Gajeel froze.

"Who told you that Levy was my partner?" He asked suspiciously, eyes narrowing to angry points of red in the shade cast by the tree.

Natsu rolled his eyes and wobbled drunkenly as he flapped a hand at Gajeel.

"Duh. Her smell is all over your blanket. So did you tell her?"

Gajeel cast his eyes down, deflating as he spat a curt "No."

"What?" Natsu squawked in indignation, swaying dangerously as he clutched the tree trunk for support. "Why didn't you tell her?"

Gajeel thought of pure wonder spreading across Levy's face, her eyes filling with light and a smile as bright as the sun and shook his head violently.

"I'm getting in too fucking deep," he muttered to himself before raising his voice to yell at Natsu. "It..It's not like…God dammit, I just didn't want to give her the wrong fucking idea!" he finally burst out.

He was barely able to dodge Natsu's flaming roar, hopping out of his tree into the snow in the nick of time as his seat was abruptly reduced to ash. Lily didn't fare much better, swooping away from the column of flame with an oath. Gajeel landed with a curse and immediately checked to make sure his present hadn't been singed before dealing Natsu a solid punch, knocking the tipsy mage facefirst into the snow and crushing his head firmly into the snowbank with the heel of his boot.

Lily watched impassively from the sidelines, holding back a fuming Happy. He knew that if anyone could talk Gajeel out of this stupid, prideful rut, it would be Salamander, so he didn't move as Gajeel continued to smash Natsu into the snowbank, raging.

"You fucking idiot! What if you burned her present, huh?"

Natsu made an unintelligible noise, and grudgingly, Gajeel finally let up and Natsu rolled limply onto his back.

"Stupid metal bolthead," he grinned irreverently.

Gajeel was ready to flip him right back over and continue mashing him into a Salamader-shaped hole in the bank but Natsu flopped one arm in the rough direction of the Guild.

"She was waitin' for you," he slurred. "All alone while everyone left."

Gajeel stood up sharply, suddenly cold despite the warmth of Levy's present over his shoulders.

"What?"

"Go back an' tell her you liked it," Natsu managed before passing out for real, his snores echoing off the frozen trees around him.

"Aye…" Happy agreed, as he grabbed Natsu by the vest, hoisting the dead weight into the air as they made a wobbly path towards their house.

Gajeel watched them leave, turmoil swirling angrily in his chest. Lily waved Happy off before turning to Gajeel and fixing him with a _look _as the Iron Dragonslayer sat down hard in the snow.

"God dammit." He muttered. "I…I just wanted her to leave well enough alone and take the stupid gift and be done with it, not sit and wait for a goddamn love confession!"

Lily snorted, sitting next to Gajeel in the snow and crossing his arms. "Not like you would've had the balls to pull through with _that_."

Gajeel grunted angrily, pulling the blanket a little more closely around him and they sat in stony silence for a minute before Gajeel buried his face into the soft plush again and got up with a sigh.

"I'm…I'm not gonna just leave her there by herself. That's just a dick thing to do, but! I'm not gonna tell her anything either!" He finished quickly, shooting Lily a challenging glare.

Lily nodded approvingly. "That's better than nothing. She'll be happy with that and so will you, and if you decide you want something more" -Lily grinned hugely- "I'll be crashing at Erza's tonight, so…" he trailed off, twitching his ears and waggling his eyebrows in the most ridiculous manner possible.

Gajeel scrabbled furiously in the snow around him, ears turning red and shouting something unfit to repeat in front of Wendy as he formed a huge snowball, hurling it at Lily, who dodged easily, chuckling. Dodging another chunk of snow, the Exceed flitted over and patted his partner's shoulder solemnly.

"Good luck."

Gajeel looked down, swallowing tightly as his shoulders slumped, and only Lily would really know just how nervous he was in that moment. He grinned at the split second of vulnerability before Gajeel's steel mask fell back into place and the Iron Dragonslayer looked up and nodded sharply, eyes already cutting into the distance.

"Thanks, but hopefully I won't need it."

Lily nodded confidently at his partner's resolve and took off for Fairy Hills with a lighter heart, and Gajeel watched him until he was out of sight, one hand lifted in thanks.

As his cat disappeared into a speck in the distance, Gajeel began to make his way slowly towards the Guild, fretting over what to say and do once he got there. His present was just a present. Nothing else. So why was he so goddamn nervous?

"Ah, fuck it!" He finally yelled to the silent night air, and tucking the blanket carefully under his arm, he broke into a dead run towards Fairy Tail, letting the rush of the icy winter wind blow away his nerves for the moment.

When he got to the Guild, it was quiet and dark and obviously closed, and he cursed as he banged one fist on the door. No one answered (obviously) and he jumped cleanly into the second-story rafters outside to peek in.

He flushed, completely mortified as he saw Mira and the green-haired runeweaver wrapped in each others arms and slow-dancing across the Guild Hall. He jerked away, knowing that he'd seen something beautiful and private that wasn't meant for his eyes, but that confirmed that Levy wasn't in there, so keeping his eyes sharply averted from the windows, he hopped back down and slunk away to think.

If she wasn't here, then that probably meant that she'd gone back to her place. He was ready to leave for Fairy Hills when the faintest wisp of crisp linen and parchment caught his nose and he jerked his head back in the direction it had come from. Looking down, he found a clear line of tracks made by small feet heading in the direction of the…woods? That wasn't towards Fairy Hills, so where the hell was she going?

Furrowing his brow, he tucked the blanket a bit more firmly under his arm and started following.

* * *

Levy walked the long way to Gajeel's apartment all by her lonesome, telling herself that she'd just apologize and thank him for his present and be on her way. She wouldn't even ask him if he liked her present!

She buoyed herself with fake-happy thoughts, trying in vain to enjoy the beautiful winter weather around her, but deep inside she was quaking, desperately scared that she'd ruined whatever hint of friendship they had. Gajeel hadn't even stayed for the Reveal, and although he hadn't torn her present apart in disgust at first sight, if he didn't even stay the few seconds required to let her know that he had been her Secret Santa, then he must be very angry with her.

She sighed, feeling small and sad and lonely.

It would be all right though, because all she was going to do was thank him. It wasn't like she was going to say anything about the long days and nights of waiting and wistful hoping for…_anything _from him.

But then again, why not? She wondered wearily. Now was the perfect time, after all. Maybe she _should_ tell him and get it over with instead of drawing things out until it was painfully awkward. It was already unbearable as things stood right now.

She WOULD tell him, she decided, hefting the box firmly in her arms. It wasn't like her to pursue something so adamantly, but she had never felt so strongly before, and god, she needed to know if he felt the same way!

_And If he didn't_ - something within her faltered painfully and she nearly tripped on her own feet – if he didn't, she would deal with it then, she thought firmly, trying to ignore the awful hurt seeping through her at the thought.

Building her resolve up, she gave herself a mental pep talk, and was so fired up that when she finally reached to his house, she marched straight to his front door and knocked boldly, stepping back to wait for him to open up. She waited, and waited…and after about two minutes of silence and calling and knocking until her knuckles stung, she came to the disappointing conclusion that he wasn't home.

_But where could he have gone?_ She thought, trying not to succumb to the disappointment that weighted her down. The box in her arms suddenly seemed ten times heavier, and she had never felt so painfully alone. He hadn't been at the reveal, so she had just assumed he'd gone straight home, but he wasn't here, and neither was Lily…

Turning sadly away, she shifted her beautiful present, looking at the sparkling ferocity of the garnet eyes and drawing resolve from them before looking back at Gajeel's house, her own eyes sharp. She _wouldn't _leave. She wouldn't leave until she had a definite answer from him, and she'd wait here all night on his doorstep for him if she had to!

Sitting herself stubbornly on the steps in front of his house, she set her present aside, gently stroking the nose of one of the silver dragons before cupping her face with both mittened hands to wait. She closed her eyes and sighed, imagining the cloud of white streaming out and upwards towards the lone streetlight by his house. She didn't expect the light, cold touch on her nose.

Her eyes snapped open to see…a tiny dab of white on her nose? Her mouth rounded into a perfect O of realization before she struggled to her feet, laughing and holding her hands up to catch the minute flakes of snow as they drifted down from an ink-black sky.

She jumped off the stairs into the snow, hopping to catch the drifting flakes, trying to catch a few in her mouth. Her hat flew off as she leapt to catch a particularly large bit, but she didn't even notice, too caught up in the natural wonder of falling snow.

* * *

Gajeel had come to the inevitable conclusion that Levy was heading to his house a long time ago, and now he walked slowly, resignedly back, trying to think of something to say when he saw her, but all he could think about was how big his feet were compared to hers as he tramped right next to the ongoing trail of her small feet.

He turned and walked backwards for a bit, smiling thoughtfully at the double trail of footsteps before him, the stamp of his huge boots right next to hers in the snowy path. He reached out, the ghost of her presence so thick and close that if she was actually there, his hand would be hovering right over her small of her back….and then Ivan's demands surfaced like a ghoul in his mind and he remembered that he wasn't fit to walk beside her yet, not by a long shot.

Scowling, he veered sharply off the trail into the thick snowbanks piled high on the side of the road where he wouldn't be walking next to her tracks and her almost-there presence wouldn't haunt him.

_Did she really have to walk right in the center of the road_? He lamented angrily as he sank heavily through the thick, untouched powder, holding the blanket over his head so it wouldn't touch the snow and get wet.

He was nearly back to his house when he heard the light laughter. Trying to walk silently and wincing at the creaking snow, he snuck over to a tree and stole a peek from behind it and…froze.

She was bathed in an aureola of warm, orange light from the glow of the single streetlamp above her, haloed hair streaming about her shoulders, cheeks frosted pink from the biting cold, breath puffing into drifting smoke about her face. Her smile was perfect and carefree, her head upturned as she twirled joyfully across his lawn to watch the falling flakes of snow as they tumbled across the silent expanse of black sky and his heart jumped into his throat and he couldn't _breathe_.

Oh god, why was she so damn _beautiful_?

Letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, he opened his mouth to call out to her, but his voice stalled in his throat as she laughed again, airy and cheerful as she cupped both hands to capture an errant snowflake, spinning gleefully as she caught it, the ends of her hair trailing dizzily behind her.

He didn't want to ruin this perfect moment, wanted to capture that image of ephemeral beauty forever in his mind, but he was suddenly, irrationally scared that if he didn't say something, she'd disappear in front of his eyes like a mirage, so somehow he found his voice.

"Oi, what are you doing here?"

He winced sharply. His voice sounded like rusty knives as it cut through the glowing atmosphere, hacking it to pieces and ruining it forever.

Levy gasped as the familiar voice shook her out of her snow dazzle, and she jolted back into a more normal pose, trying to pretend that she hadn't been dancing about like an idiot before he arrived.

"Gajeel," she breathed, spinning around to see the Iron Dragonslayer approaching, his footsteps leaving dark tracks in the fresh snow. He crunched to a stop a foot away from her, and she was absurdly pleased to see that he had her present tucked firmly under one arm. Stammering, she fiddled with her mittens, tugging them on and off as she tried to gather her scattered resolve.

"Um...Hello," she managed, and she was kicking herself the moment the words left her mouth. _Um, hello?_ Couldn't she think of anything more witty or funny?

"Hi…" he mumbled back, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his coat.

They stood in awkward silence with the snow falling in whispers around them for a good minute before Levy broke the silence, stuttering as Gajeel tried to speak at the same time.

"No, no, you go first," she whispered, blushing. How much more awkwardness could she take before she broke down? He shook his head and made an jerky shooing motion, and they lapsed into silence again. Finally, Levy spoke again, her voice a bare murmur above the falling snow.

"Th-Thank you for the present," she whispered, smoothing the front of her jacket nervously. "It's beautiful and I lo-" she swallowed tensely – "and I just wanted to thank you so much."

She looked up at Gajeel through her eyelashes, and he nodded woodenly, his eyes glued to her forehead. He was silent otherwise, and she crossed her arms behind her back uncomfortably. She was going on pure instinct and adrenaline now, since all her carefully planned speeches had evaporated like so much smoke the moment he had walked into the clearing and found her dancing in the snow.

"Um, also, I had one more present that I couldn't give you at the Guild."

"Yeah?" His voice was deep and gruff and gave her absolutely _no _indication as to how he was feeling, but he wasn't leaving, so she plowed on, covering the distance between them in one large step, stopping mere inches away. She felt, rather than saw, the way he suddenly tensed, muscles coiling taut with surprise under his skin, but he didn't move away from her.

Clearing her throat and trying to strike a conversational tone, she hoped that he couldn't hear the waver in her voice.

"You know, that kiss really wasn't very good, was it?"

She looked up at him shyly, and he saw that the falling snow had dusted her hair with a fine layer of snow. A few white flakes clung to her eyelashes, and as she blinked they stuck to her cheek, melting slowly in the warmth of her skin. Gajeel fought the overwhelming urge to kiss the wayward flakes away, hands curling into fists in his pockets, but he just shook his head in response to her question. He was so still otherwise that he could have been a statue, but for the breaths that puffed around his face in hazy white clouds.

Her heart hammering wildly, Levy stepped forward to close the last inch between them and put her hands on his chest, very aware of the staccato beat of his heart under her fingers.

"Since it was so terrible, I thought that maybe I should, you know, try and make up for it."

She reached up to cup his face gently with one mittened hand, eyes seeking his permission before she leaned up onto her tiptoes and slowly, deliberately, closed her eyes and pressed her lips firmly to his in a soft, sweet kiss that surprised both of them.

Levy didn't expect Gajeel to wind his arms around her, or for him to lean into her and respond with a scorching kiss of his own, but suddenly the night around them faded away and it was just her and him and she felt like she could kiss him forever like this if time allowed.

When they finally parted, they were both breathless and flushed and there was a second where if they turned away politely, they could call it an accident brought on by holiday spirit, but neither was willing to let go, so they stayed locked in each other's arms and then someone initiated another kiss and they were drowning again in mutual bliss.

After several more breathtaking kisses, Gajeel finally cleared his throat, looking down at Levy with a cross-eyed air of distraction.

"I-I guess you should come in."

Levy just nodded, unable to look away from him, her smile radiant as it broke across her flushed face.

Later that night, Gajeel grinned to himself, looking at the girl curled up comfortably in his new blankets, nose poked in a book. He joined her, curling himself around her and wrapping both arms around her slender waist while she made distressed noises at being disturbed while reading. Nuzzling his face into her blanket-covered back and breathing in with a contented sigh, he reflected that all in all, it hadn't been a bad holiday season, really.

* * *

Hooray, done! (Although I might add an omake chapter later on)

Thanks for sticking with me! Your reviews were wonderful and uplifting and I'm so glad that it was so well-received, especially for my first story! I'm sorry that it dragged on into January, since I was really hoping to finish it up by Christmas, but things just don't work that way in a procrastinator's world x_x

I feel like things were a bit OOC with Gajeel and Levy because I had to develop things fast, and generally I don't like the romance-within-a-chapter sort of thing, but I hope it was plausible!

Since Mira was in charge of the partners, she did know that Fried was her Secret Santa. She just didn't know what he would get her.


	6. Omake

Omake

The silence in the room was thick and oppressive, save for the occasional dry flip as Levy turned a page. Finally fed up after an hour of rolling about on the bed trying to get Levy to notice him, Gajeel yoinked the book straight out of her hands and threw it clear across the room, hauling her close to him instead.

"Gajeel!" She protested, shoving at his chest and fighting to try and retrieve her book.

"Forget the book," he muttered, nuzzling her neck slowly, lips drifting up to her ear. "I'd prefer _you _as my present _any _day."

Her mouth fell open as his teeth ghosted across the sensitive skin along the curve of her ear, and she broke into goosebumps, stilling in his grasp and tilting her head for him as her eyes slid half-closed. Then she caught herself sharply.

"No, Gajeel! Not that!" She shrieked, pushing his face roughly away. Gajeel's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He hadn't been expecting such intense resistance after her enthusiastic kiss earlier.

"Oi, oi, what's the problem, Shorty?"

Levy brought both hands to her face to hide her ferocious blush. "It…It's just…Lucy was saying horrible things about stuff and..." Her voice trailed off into unintelligible muttering and Gajeel cocked one eye at her.

"What?" He asked blankly.

"W-well…Lucy was saying earlier to…to dress up in only a bow and…and doing naughty things under the blanket and now – eep!" Levy barely had time to squeak as Gajeel yanked her close, pulling her firmly onto his lap before tugging the blanket firmly shut around the both of them. He gave her a sharkish grin, holding her close.

"Maybe you should listen to her more often. She comes up with some pretty good ideas," he said, and kissed her quickly before she could say anything.

Levy, face flaming, continued to mumble incoherently into the kiss, until finally Gajeel cupped the nape of her neck with one hand, tilting her head to him and kissing her silent for good. When he finally let her go to breathe, Levy could only gasp and think dizzily that yes, Lucy _did_ come up with some amazing ideas, and of several more ideas for under-blanket naughtiness.

* * *

In the week following the Christmas party, most Fairy Tail activities passed in a haze of drunken partying leading up to the New Year before finally dying off as mages nursed their weeklong hangovers. Only one person was up and about, carrying on her normal day to day activities with gleeful abandon.

Cana sat in her normal seat by the bar, cheerily knocking back the contents of her second barrel of the day. Wiping her mouth with a refreshed sigh, she turned brightly to Macao, who was slumped in a moaning heap on the table next to her and patted his back heartily.

"Cheer up, Macao! Don't be such a drag, here, have some beer!" She offered her barrel to him, and he instantly turned his head the other way, going green at the mere _mention_ of more alcohol.

"Unghh…Cana, how are you even doing that?" He groaned.

Cana shrugged cheerfully and patted her bulging purse.

"Well, you know! Money makes a girl's heart happy, and when I'm happy, I drink!" She laughed uproariously and took a huge swig from her barrel. Macao flipped his head back to her and considered her fat wallet appraisingly.

"Hey, Cana, how _did_ you manage to get that much dough? It's not like anyone's been going on missions with all the partying going on."

Cana grinned. "Oh, that's easy, see." She started counting off on her fingers.

"I won 200k in jewel from the bet I made on how long the Christmas tree would last, and then another 100k bonus for predicting exactly _how_ it happened. I got another 100k each from Gray, Erza and Levy for betting against me when I said that Natsu would kiss Lucy on New Year's Day. Then I got 100k each from Alzack and Bisca when they bet against me about how Gray and Juvia would kiss on New Year's, but they didn't know that I got 100k each on the sly from Gray and Juvia for betting against _them_ to kiss on New Year's, but that happened too!

Also, I had a long-running bet with Wakaba and Reedus about the color of Evergreen's lingerie, so when she started stripping during the New Year's party and I was right about her scarlet panties, I got to collect 300k from _both_ of them! Then, I had a side bet with Gajeel and Lucy about how many shots Levy could take at one time, and Gajeel said three and Lucy said five, but I was right, since Levy was out like a light after her _first_ shot! Man, I knew that girl was a lightweight, but I wasn't expecting to win that one! Still, that was another 200k each from those two!

So here I am, 2 million jewel up! Oh my! Gambling makes a girl's heart so happy!"

She gave a huge sigh of content, eyes sparkling. Macao's eye twitched and he lowered his head to the table.

"I'm so glad that I didn't ever bet against you," he muttered thankfully.

She winked and chugged deeply from her barrel before agreeing with him.

"H-how did you even manage to collect?" He asked incredulously, thinking of all the tight-fisted mages. Cana shrugged easily.

"I just took advantage of their drunken state and shook them until they paid up! Plus, this is only the beginning. I've got a running bet with Mirajane" – she pointed to where the white-haired bartender was sitting with her head buried in her arms – "about some of the hookups that are gonna happen after what she and Fried did with the mistletoe."

She winked roguishly. "Personally, my money is on that Gajeel and our cute little Levy-chan. I bet she's not as innocent as she looks!"

Macao shook his head in disbelief. "You really are something, you know that?"

Cana smiled unrepentantly at him with a coy "Yes," before turning her attention back to her alcohol.

Macao considered her for a second before leaning close to whisper "Oi, put 100k for me on Gajeel and Levy too, okay? I want in on some of these winnings!"

Cana pushed his face away playfully. "Of course you do. I'll do that, but right now you should probably focus on explaining to your girlfriend where you've been for the past week."

Macao made a dismissive gesture before resting his head back on the table and closing his eyes.

"Eh. She'll understand. I'd rather be here sleeping off my alcohol than back home with her yammering to wake me."

Cana nodded, a brief flare of happiness going off in her chest, which she instantly drowned with another long drink.

"Ey, Cana! Aren't you forgettin' somethin' baby?"

A loud, rude voice cut into her guzzling and she raised her head to see Bixlow and Fried making their wobbly way over to her table. Bixlow's dolls floated behind him, giggling at his inability to walk straight and dipping and bobbing to imitate his movements. All five of them were wearing the metal helmets that Erza had commissioned for Bixlow as his Secret Santa present.

The duo finally managed to sit down at the table, and with deep, matching sighs, they were silent for a moment to rest their spinning heads. Fried didn't even move from his face-down position on the table, his hair sprawled in messy green tendrils around his face. Finally, Bixlow sat up and jabbed a finger in Cana's general direction, grinning hugely under his half-mask.

"Hehe, it's time to pay up, Cana. 300k per for me and Fried."

"What?" Cana asked suspiciously, clutching her overflowing wallet close.

"Remember our bet with you and Titania about that Elfman and Ever?"

Cana nodded slowly, and Mirajane's ears perked up and she lifted her head blearily as she heard her little brother's name.

"Well, we just won, baby! Caught them makin' out somethin' awful behind the Guild Hall. They were so into it that they didn't even notice us!"

Bixlow guffawed at the memory, and Fried gave a forlorn groan. He really hadn't needed to see that much exposed skin from_ either_ of the two involved, what with his mind unable to comprehend simple things like walking. And breathing. Bixlow had had to carry him away because his brain had shut down on the spot and left him staring, dumbfounded, forced to watch as his usually-composed, reliable teammate stripped off Elfman's pants with reckless abandon. He wanted to claw his eyes out, but all he could settle for past the tribal pounding of his alcohol-induced migraine was another pitiful groan.

Cana and Mirajane jumped to their feet at the same time, excitement blazing in Cana's eyes while horror reflected endlessly in Mira's.

"Are they still there?" She asked eagerly.

Bixlow nodded and Cana tore off towards the back of the Guild Hall, quickly followed by Mirajane, who was murmuring "No! No, please don't let it happen!" Their footsteps clicked rapidly away, leaving the Hall silent again, save for the groaning of hungover mages.

Bixlow and Fried stayed where they were, and Macao raised a hand cautiously in greeting. Then the still air was rent with horrified shrieks (Mirajane and Evergreen) and uproarious guffaws (Cana). Elfman's mortified sobbing was lost under the high-pitched screaming.

Bixlow chuckled, and as one, his dolls nodded with an enthusiastic "Yeah!"

Fried held up one feeble hand, and Bixlow attempted to high-five it. Since he couldn't see straight, he had to try three times before succeeding. With a chuckle, he slumped onto the table next to his teammate.

"Looks like it's time to collect from Titania then, eh babies?"

His dolls zoomed enthusiastically through the air with little cries of "Titania!" and "Erza!" and Bixlow grinned.

"You really like your new hats a lot, huh babies?"

The totems giggled and nodded, chorusing their agreement. Bixlow turned his head on the table to look at Erza, who was passed out blissfully on the floor, wearing nothing but the "Happy New Year!" banner that had drifted down from the destroyed second-story banister at the end of the party.

With a groan, he rested his forehead back onto the table. "We'll get it from her tomorrow, babies. Let's just sleep for now."

The dolls nodded and settled into a line in front of the two sleeping Raijinshuu on the table. Macao edged away from them and decided to lounge on the floor next to Wakaba, who was sitting in an undignified faceplant position at the table, snoring and drooling out of the side of his mouth. With a chuckle, Macao crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes to get some sleep.

What a year!

* * *

A/N - Finished! Thanks for sticking with me and I'm so glad that people liked it as much as I did!

Anyhow, if you're looking for more Gajeel/Levy, my newest installment of standalone stories for them is up - Ironbound Paperbacks. It should be updated at a pretty quick rate, so feel free to check it out if you're interested!


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